Celtic could be disappointed in their hopes of landing Henry Onyekuru with Liverpool making their move.
One of the longest running transfer sagas of the year appears unlikely to reach its conclusion any time soon. According to the Daily Mail, Premier League trio Liverpool, Bournemouth and Southampton have joined the convoy of clubs checking out teenage striker Henry Onyekuru.
The 19-year-old exploded onto the scene in Belgium by netting 15 goals for unfancied Eupen, thus drawing attention from a huge number of teams from England, Germany, Spain and, most intriguingly, Scotland.
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic were one of the first to be linked with Onyekuru and, according to the Daily Mail, made a bid of £1 million in January.
At the time, Eupen rejected their offer out of hand, demanding they quadruple it. Now, three months later, it is reported that they will not accept anything less than £6.8 million with the striker going from strength to strength and earning a place on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
And Liverpool is certainly an enticing destination. Manager Jurgen Klopp’s commendable confidence in young players means Onyekuru would not be ‘just a number’ at Anfield. Furthermore, with Daniel Sturridge’s future uncertain, the African goal machine could benefit from the lack of natural strikers in Liverpool’s squad.
However, this is where Rodgers’ infamous pulling power comes in. Scott Sinclair, the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer, admitted recently to The Scotsman that the Northern Irishman’s presence makes Celtic a more attractive proposition to potential signings.
Moussa Dembele, the former Fulham prodigy linked with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United before choosing to move to Glasgow last summer, would surely agree.
And with the Scottish Sun reporting that Celtic could be left disappointed in their hopes of bringing Onyekuru to Parkhead, Rodgers will not be accepting defeat just yet.
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