Celtic won’t be signing Ko Itakura this summer after the Manchester City defender secured a move to Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Bhoys have now snapped up two new faces this summer with Benjamin Siegrist and Alexandro Bernabei arriving.
Permanent deals for Cameron Carter-Vickers, Daizen Maeda and Jota have now been secured too, after all three impressed on loan last season.
Celtic are making impressive moves in the market and look to be in a great position for another title success next season.
Celtic won’t be signing Ko Itakura
One player who won’t be part of any Celtic title push is Japanese defender Ko Itakura.
Itakura was heavily linked with Celtic last summer before joining Schalke, whose sporting director Rouven Schroder claimed that Celtic were desperate to land the defender.
Schalke couldn’t afford a permanent deal for Itakura despite a positive loan spell, which opened the door for Celtic again.
The Manchester Evening News reported in May that Celtic were back in for Itakura.
Celtic’s strong ties to the City Football Group – through Ange Postecoglou and Mark Lawwell – meant a deal did seem possible.
Add in Celtic’s influx of Japanese talent and going for Itakura made perfect sense.
However, Celtic won’t be signing Itakura as the defender has now secured a permanent move back to Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 25-year-old has signed a four-year deal with Gladbach and was presented as their latest signing on Saturday.
Gladbach sporting director Roland Virkus claims that Itakura had ‘several attractive offers’ on the table, though it’s unclear if one of those came from Celtic.
Virkus hailed Itakura as an ‘incredibly strong runner’ and the Bundesliga club seem very excited to have secured his signature.
Celtic may still be in the market for another centre back this summer to offer depth behind Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt, but Itakura won’t be that player.
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