Celtic now face Andrea Pirlo transfer battle with £1.3m bid made

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FC Volendam ace Xavier Mbuyamba could now be on his way to Italy with a move to Celtic suddenly uncertain following the arrival of Maik Nawrocki at Parkhead on Wednesday.

Then again, much will depend on whether or not the Scottish Premiership champions see Nawrocki – who’s arrival from Legia Warsaw was confirmed on Wednesday morning – as an alternative to Xavier Mbuyamba. Or instead a potential partner for the one-time Chelsea and Barcelona youngster in a new-look defensive set-up.

Nawrocki, after all, is equally comfortable on the left or the right. Mbuyamba is not quite so versatile – he played exclusively as FC Volendam’s right-sided centre-half last term – but there could still be a place for him at Celtic, especially if Carl Starfelt returns to Russia with Spartak Moscow.

Celtic like former Barcelona and Chelsea starlet Xavier Mbuyamba

Mbuyamba was outstanding as Volendam dodged relegation in 2022/23.

The Daily Mail believe that the 21-year-old is now ‘high’ on Celtic’s summer wishlist, and the Hoops should be confident of winning a battle against a Sampdoria side relegated from Serie A amid serious financial concerns.

Sampdoria, Voetbal International say, have had a £1.3 million bid rejected for Mbuyamba. Now under the stewardship of Italian legend Andrea Pirlo – and former Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani – it remains to be seen how much higher Samp can go in pursuit of a defender who moved from Barcelona to Chelsea in 2020 before returning to his native Netherlands.

Mbyumba would become Celtic’s seventh permanent signing of the summer.

The Hoops have already brought in Marco Tilio, Tomoki Iwata, Odin Thiago Holm, Yang Hyeon-Gyu and Kwon Hyeok-Kyu, as well as the aformentioned Nawrocki.

Mbuyamba, meanwhile, has not ruled out staying in the Eredivisie until 2024.

“My agent is in the Netherlands. Soon, we will discuss what is going on,” he told De Telegraaf a few months ago.

“There will be interest. But the main question is whether a move is right for me. If not, then I will stay. I have said that I will stay with FC Volendam for a maximum of two years. And this is my first season…”

“This was my first year in men’s football. I played in everything, showed that I can perform well and stayed fit. That’s great. I can’t complain about my performance.”