Celtic loanee Oliver Abildgaard is a target for Bundesliga and Serie A clubs with the Rubin Kazan-owned midfielder expected to leave Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish Premiership champions sooner rather than later, according to Danish publication BT.
For the most part, Postecoglou has seen far more hits than misses since replacing Neil Lennon at Parkhead a year-and-a-half ago. Abildgaard, however, is one of the few Postecoglou signings unlikely to look back at his time at Parkhead with a great deal of fondness.
The 26-year-old defensive midfielder was brought in last summer to provide competition for Callum McGregor. But, even when Celtic’s inspirational skipper was unavailable in the autumn, Postecoglou opted to field the more technical Aaron Mooy or Matt O’Riley in the ‘number six’ role instead, Abildgaard forced to watch on helplessly from the sidelines.
He’s played just 69 minutes of Premiership football. In fact, the last time Abildgaard was seen in a domestic fixture, he was coming off the bench during a 2-1 win at Motherwell in early November.
First-team opportunities now look even more sparse following Celtic’s latest J-League addition; Tomoki Iwata joining Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi in Glasgow.
And, according to Russian publication RB Sport, Celtic could terminate Abildgaard’s season-long loan deal four months ahead of schedule.
BT say that Bundesliga, Serie A and Turkish clubs are keeping tabs on Abildgaard. A return to his native Denmark is also a possibility. Interestingly, Giorgios Giakoumakis could also be on his way to Scandinavia with FC Midtjylland.
Nottingham Forest may have second chance to sign Celtic’s Oliver Abildgaard
Abildgaard, meanwhile, was on Nottingham Forest’s radar before joining Celtic on deadline day (Fabrizio Romano). There is nothing as of yet to suggest that he remains a target for Steve Cooper’s side, but Abildgaard’s availability should not go unnoticed at the City Ground as Steve Cooper looks to bring a new defensive midfielder to the two-time European Champions.
Abildgaard certainly feels more attainable than the likes of Jefferson Lerma and Lassana Coulibaly. He is cheaper, too, than Everton’s £120,000-a-week benchwarmer Abdoulaye Doucoure. And just because the Denmark international has found life tough going at Celtic, that does not mean he cannot make a far greater impression at Nottingham Forest.
The 6ft 4ins Abildgaard is, after all, a ball-winner rather than a ball-player. He looks ill-suited to a team used to dominating possession. But could come into his own in a counter-attacking Forest system.
“(Abildgaard) adapted really well to Russia, and became a fan favourite,” reporter David Sansun tells The Athletic. “He was calm but aggressive when he needed to be. I’ve got no doubts about his temperament. He’s a classic Scandinavian player; very committed, and enjoys playing football.
“It was just apparent very quickly that he was a very good player. He really suited his role. Very physical, good at winning his duels, also amazing at interceptions and blocks. Very good on the ball as well considering his size.”
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