Albert Gudmundsson does not want to sign a new contract at Eredivisie outfit AZ Alkmaar amid interest from Scottish Premiership giants Rangers and Celtic, technical director Max Huiberts tells the Noordhollands Dagblad.
As Celtic were held to a goalless draw by St Mirren three days before Christmas, Ange Postecoglou must have wished he could introduce a player of Gudmundsson’s ilk off the bench.
Because while this Celtic squad appears to have about as much depth as a Love Island reject – there is a substantial drop off in quality between Postecoglou’s first XI and his seldom-seen second string – Gudmundsson has already proved that he can be relied upon to turn a draw into a win, one point into three.
With AZ toiling against ten-man Willem II in late-December, head coach Pascal Jansen turned to his all-action Icelander.
And, in the space of 15 minutes, Gudmundson scored twice. He was an unlucky a deflection away from a hat-trick blink-and-you-miss-it hat-trick.
1-1 became 4-1 in no time at all.
Would Albert Gudmundsson choose Celtic or Rangers?
Unfortunately for AZ, they will not be able to rely upon those kind of match-changing contributions for much longer.
Gudmundsson is out of contract in the summer. And, according to The Telegraph, he now finds himself at the heart of a transfer tug-of-war with an Old Firm giant at either end of the rope.
According to Huiberts, Gudmundsson has no intention of signing a new deal at things stand.
The former PSV youngster, who has 29 caps for the Icelandic national team, is hoping to seal a summer move to a club outside of the Netherlands, having spent his entire professional career on Dutch soil.
It remains to be seen how serious Celtic’s interest really is, following the January arrivals of Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny. Martin Boyle has also been linked.
Title-rivals Rangers, meanwhile, appear to be prioritising a new winger having submitted offers for Olimpiu Morutan and the £7.5 million-rated Andreas Skov Olsen.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a former Feyenoord coach and Dutch international, will know Gudmundsson well.
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