Celtic may have to break their transfer record if they want Switzerland international Fabian Rieder at Parkhead this summer with BSC Young Boys demanding ‘more than 10 million euros’ for the stylish attacker.
According to Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph – in conversation with Give Me Sport at the beginning of July – returning Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has been handed around £30 million to spend in preparation for a return to the Champions League.
So far, the Hoops have spent around a third of that. Maik Nawrocki became Rodgers’ sixth new signing this week when he arrived from Legia Warsaw, following in the footsteps of Yang Hyun-Jun, Kwon Hyeok-Kyu, Marco Tilio, Odin Thiago Holm and the returning Tomoki Iwata.
Rodgers still has pennies to play with, then, though Fabian Rieder may still be a little on the expensive side with Swiss champions BSC Young Boys holding out for a fee higher than the £9 million Celtic paid for their current record signing Odsonne Edouard back in 2018.
Fabian Rieder may be too expensive for Celtic
Young Boys, the Scottish Sun say, want £15 million.
A fee certainly higher than Celtic’s fellow suitors Borussia Monchengladbach are capable of offering.
“Fabian Rieder is a good player,” says Gladbach’s managing director, Roland Virkus. “But he costs more than ten million euros. That’s a (fee) the board can’t handle.
“That the player is good and interesting. That we’ve dealt with him, that’s clear. But, at the moment, we can’t think of Fabian Rieder.”
An attacking midfielder, Rieder scored 11 goals and set up nine more last season. Celtic’s midfield additions have focused larger on the more deep-lying positions so far, with Iwata returning and Kwon likened to Manchester City star Rodri due to his fine passing range and tactical intelligence.
Tilio and Yang, meanwhile, will add competition in the wide areas following the departure of fan favourite Jota to Saudi Arabia.
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