Celtic will need to move quickly to sign Lovro Majer

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Lovro Majer is a man in demand…but with Everton, Atletico Madrid and Lille said to be keen, Celtic must act quickly or risk missing out forever.

If it’s a talented and technical gifted young midfielder you’re after, there are worse places to check out than the Croatian league.

Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic (both above), Milan Badelj, Marko Rog and Marcelo Brozovic have all emerged from Croatia in the last decade or so, and Lovro Majer looks perfectly placed to follow in their esteemed footsteps.

The 19-year-old has emerged as one of the top talents in Croatian football and has scored five goals and set up three more in 18 games for Lokomotiva this season. The nation’s best talents don’t tend to stick around for long, however, and Majer already has a clutch of suitors checking him out on a regular basis.

And speculation over his future is hotting up with a January move looking likely – just three months after Italian outlet Il Secolo XIX linked Celtic with an exciting swoop.

Majer, who has one cap for his country already, is the archetypal Brendan Rodgers midfielder. He has the ability to control the tempo from deep and boss possession with his precise passing – a la Scott Brown – or drive forward into the final third with real dynamism in a style not too dissimilar to Stuart Armstrong.

And Majer could be a fine alternative to John McGinn, the long-standing target who Hibernian value at a hefty £5 million, as reported by STV. McGinn has been tipped to replace Brown for both Celtic and Scotland and has aced his audition this season, taking easily to the top flight. He also was given the Man of the Match award in Scotland’s recent friendly defeat to Holland.

But Celtic will not have it all their own way if they want to lure Majer to Parkhead.

The report adds that Premier League giants Everton are keen, along with Atletico Madrid and Lille, and that should come as no surprise. The Toffees have been scouring the continent for the next generation of talent and raided Croatia earlier this year, signing Nikola Vlasic from Hajduk Split for a fee of £10 million, according to the BBC.

But Celtic know that 32-year-old Brown can’t go on forever – and it would be typical of The Hoops to replace one star with a hugely talented youngster who could go on to do great things in green and white.