Schalke’s Bundesliga striker Franco Di Santo has emerged as a shock Janaury transfer target for Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.
The Neymar effect took football by storm this summer. Once PSG triggered his £200 million buyout clause to sign the Samba star from Barcelona and make him the world’s most expensive footballer, the transfer market exploded and inflated fees trickled down to the bottom of the food chain.
Barcelona might have had £200 million burning a hole in their back pocket but this almost became a hindrance rather than a help. Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool both took Barca to the cleaners when selling Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho to the Catalan giants.
Celtic must avoid the same effect, then, if Moussa Dembele does indeed leave before next week’s transfer deadline.
Everton, Brighton and Crystal Palace are all keen on a striker who is valued at £20 million.
But with Dembele expected to be the biggest export in Celtic’s history, it would be easy for clubs to demand inflated fees when The Hoops start looking for a replacement.
The Mirror states that Celtic are looking at Schalke’s Franco Di Santo as a potential successor for Dembele. Rodgers knows the Argentine well from his time at Chelsea’s academy but he has been far from prolific since signing for Schalke from Werder Bremen, notching just four league goals in 54 games.
But if Schalke know that Celtic have £20 million to spend, they could easily demand that Rodgers coughs up a club-record fee of over £6 million for the less than prolific Di Santo.
The Bhoys must be sure they are not being taken for a ride.
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