Scottish Premiership champions Celtic want Niklas Dorsch, who shone as Heidenheim beat Bundesliga.2 strugglers Hannover on Sunday.
The season wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.
When Hannover were relegated from the Bundesliga last season, Die Roten were hoping to be back in the big time in just 12 months. Instead, Hannover are closer to the bottom of the second tier than they are to the top with Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing at Heidenheim something of a rock bottom moment for these former top flight stalwarts.
But anyone who keeps a close eye on events in Germany’s lower leagues will not have been surprised by an outstanding display from this talented Heidenheim team, inspired as they so often are by prized asset and playmaker Niklas Dorsch.
A former Bayern Munich wonderkid who idolises Toni Kroos, Dorsch is playing the best football of his career for Frank Schmidt’s side and produced another midfield masterclass when Hannover arrived at the cosy Voith Arena.
According to The Telegraph, Celtic are considering whether or not to trigger Dorsch’s £2.8 million release clause in January and his performance on Sunday suggests he could be worth every penny.
The 21-year-old dominated an experienced Hannover midfield consisting of former Bundesliga regulars Marvin Bakalorz and Genki Haraguchi. No one in the Heidenheim team touched the ball more than Dorsch (88) with his pass completion rate of 90 per cent a tally Kroos himself would have been proud of.
Dorsch also produced two dribbles, one key pass, four tackles and two interceptions during an outstanding all-action display which earned him a WhoScored rating of 8/10.
Clearly, this is a player who would add tenacity and technique in equal measure to a Celtic midfield already chock full of talent. The new Scott Brown anyone?
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