Earlier this week, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers set out his stall on the future of Matt O’Riley.
The Scottish Premiership champions have turned down offers from Atalanta, HITC understands, while remaining firm on their valuation. Celtic want a minimum of £25 million.
A fee that would make Matt O’Riley – who also remains a target for his former MK Dons boss Russell Martin at Southampton – the most expensive sale in The Hoops’ entire history.
But when quizzed about the future of another Celtic player, Rodgers was not quite so steadfast in his response.
Gustaf Lagerbielke, a £3 million signing from Elfsborg just last summer, may be allowed to pursue a fresh start of his own if the price is right.
Celtic open to selling defender Gustaf Lagerbielke
“It just all depends,” Rodgers says, via Football Scotland. “Gus has shown a terrific attitude. He didn’t get so much game time last season but he’s got his head down.
“He had the chance to go on loan in January but we needed to keep him due to the injuries we had in that position. But he’s worked very hard over pre-season and we’ll see what happens.
“You see the players are happy and working well, but all players want to play. If they can’t get the game time with us, they may look elsewhere. In this moment, he’s working very hard and when is asked. He comes in and does well.”
The Stockholm-born Lagerbielke started only four Scottish Premiership games as Celtic secured yet another domestic title. In total, he was on the pitch for just over 400 league minutes.
Despite impressing Rodgers with his mentality and spirit, Lagerbielke heads into the new campaign behind Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales and arguably Stephen Walsh in the pecking order. Celtic also still have Maik Nawrocki and Yuki Kobayashi at their disposal.
A potential move to Italy for the 23-year-old Swede, meanwhile, continues to linger.
Lagerbielke confirmed back in January that he would be interested in following in the footsteps of many a Scandinavian player at Lecce while informing Sky Italia of his Serie A ‘dream’.
Lecce director Pantaleo Corvino would later admit that the Giallorossi do indeed hold an admiration for the Parkhead misfit. However, due to the array of centre-halves already at the Stadio Via del Mare at the time, Lecce opted against pursuing a deal during the winter.
Seven months on, things may have changed. Lagerbielke’s Serie A ‘dream’ may yet become a reality.
Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, Corvino confirms that Lecce are now in the market for not one but two central defenders before the window closes.
Serie A move is still on the cards with Lecce
The Italians have lost former loanee Ahmed Touba while Marin Pongracic has sealed a £13 million move to Fiorentina to replace Nottingham Forest newbie Nikola Milenkovic.
“We are looking for potential players who are up to the task,” Corvino explains. “We cannot stay with two central defenders. We will sign two more.
“We gave away Pongracic, who was a starter.”
Ahead of Sunday’s Premiership opener at home to Kilmarnock, Celtic have completed only three signings this summer. Paulo Bernardo returns on a permanent basis from Benfica, while goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo both arrived.
In addition to retaining O’Riley’s services, Rodgers is keen to bring in a new centre-forward.
A potential deal for Norwich City striker Adam Idah continues to drag on, with HITC understanding that Celtic have now lodged an enquiry for Hearts captain and Golden Boot holder Lawrence Shankland.
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