Adrien Trebel could have joined Scottish Premiership champions Celtic last summer but The Hoops didn’t want to pay £9m.
Scott Brown cannot go on forever.
Though influential as ever at the age of 33, Brown started to look increasingly like a veteran figure during a difficult 2018/19 campaign, particularly in December’s 1-0 defeat away at Rangers when he was swamped by the energy of Ryan Jack and co.
So despite Brown shunning a move to Australia and signing a new contract to extend his trophy-laden stay at Parkhead, it is high time Celtic planned for the future and signed a man capable of replacing their charismatic skipper – sooner rather than later.
And Adrien Trebel could be the perfect candidate.
Like Brown, the 28-year-old enforcer is a natural born leader. Trebel wears the captain’s armband at Belgian giants Anderlecht and, at his best, he is capable of dominating a game with his intelligent distribution and tough-tackling style.
Speaking to HLN, Trebel admitted that he was in ‘advanced talks’ over a move to Celtic last summer, only for the deal to fall through once the Scottish Premiership champions failed to meet his £9 million price-tag.
But it seems only a matter of time before Trebel bids farewell to Anderlecht with Le 10 Sports reporting that he could return to France with Nantes. Crucially, however, both clubs are still a long way form a deal with negotiations reaching an impasse.
That opens a window of opportunity for Celtic to sign a player who looks more than capable of inheriting Scott Brown’s armband. But with Trebel not too far away from 30, this is perhaps the last year when he is a viable target.
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