Scottish Premiership champions Celtic reportedly wanted to sign Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko from Premier League giants Manchester City.
Celtic have certainly benefited from their relationship with Manchester City over the years.
Daniel Arzani joined John Guidetti, Jason Denayer and Patrick Roberts in moving to Parkhead on loan from the Premier League champions on Friday. But one player who might not be making that switch is Oleksandr Zinchenko.
According to ABC de Sevilla, Celtic were interested in signing the £16 million-rated Ukrainian international on loan. Though it seems that the 21-year-old is heading to Spain instead with Real Betis leading Girona in the race.
And missing out on Zinchenko is certainly a blow for Celtic, who have frustrated many of their supporters with a quiet transfer window that has seen their squad remain largely the same while old rivals Rangers strengthen in the background.
Celtic have lost Stuart Armstrong to Southampton and could see Olivier Ntcham go too with the Frenchman open to joining Porto according to Goal. Couple this with their failure to sign John McGinn and suddenly Celtic’s midfield could end the summer weaker than it was last season.
Zinchenko, a Premier League champion with City in May, would have been a much needed addition, adding energy and intelligence in possession to a position where Celtic suddenly look slightly short of options.
His ability to fill in at left-back would only have made Zinchenko an even more impressive addition. But it seems that Celtic are set to miss out on another player who would have enhanced Brendan Rodgers’ starting XI.
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