Chelsea and Celtic are just some of the sides who have kept an eye on Red Star Belgrade’s Richmond Boakye in recent months.
With Richmond Boakye boasting a goals tally equal to that of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017, his prolific form in Serbia was never going to go unnoticed.
The Mail reported in October that Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic were interested in the Red Star Belgrade talisman. Boakye is reportedly valued at around £10 million but, if you consider his remarkable statistics in recent months, you can see why Celtic would consider making him their record signing.
The 24-year-old has 23 goals in 26 appearances for Red Star this season and netted a further 16 in 20 in 2016/17 after arriving initially on loan from Serie B side Latina. For those without a calculator at hand, that amounts to 39 goals in 46 games this year alone.
But what chance do Celtic realistically have of luring one of Europe’s most in-form hitmen to Parkhead – with Premier League champions Chelsea also keen?
Boakye worked under Chelsea boss Antonio Conte during his formative years at Juventus, and has insisted that he would be open to the prospect of working with the Italian again.
“Conte wanted me and brought me to Juventus from Sassuolo (in 2012),” Boakye told Tuttomercatoweb. “I’ll always thank Conte. When I was loaned to Elche, he called me and told me to remember that I had the qualities.”
“For a 19-year old boy, it is great encouragement. If Conte wants me, I’m happy to link up with him again.”
Rodgers, then, may have to utilise all his sparkling-toothed charm if he is to encourage a striker with a truly remarkable scoring record to reject Chelsea for a move north of the border to Celtic.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
