Celtic face a challenge luring Abdul Majeed Waris to Parkhead this summer.
In an era where transfer records are shattered seemingly on a daily basis, it is a remarkable statistic that Celtic are still yet to match the £6 million they paid Coventry City to land a Welsh cannonball of a forward by the name of John Hartson all the way back in 2001 (BBC).
However, if Brendan Rodgers wants to add a new striker to his ranks, and the manager has suggested that is indeed the case, he may be forced to make history.
Because The Mail report that Lorient striker Abdul Majeed Waris, who has been tracked by Celtic and a host of Premier League clubs, is valued at around £12 million – double the fee the Scottish champions paid for club-legend Hartson 16 years ago.
The 25-year-old Ghana international was rated as one of Africa’s most exciting young talents around the time he was included in the Black Stars’ 2014 World Cup squad on the back of scoring nine goals in 16 Ligue 1 games on loan at Valenciennes from Spartak Moscow.
And while he is yet to fulfil that early potential, Waris has still found the net on a regular basis for Lorient in the French top flight, netting 19 goals in the last two seasons.
However, Lorient’s relegation to the second tier last season means they are very unlikely to keep Waris, who once had trials with Manchester City, beyond this transfer window.
Whether the club will stump up Lorient’s asking price remains to be seen. Rodgers’ desire for attacking reinforcements is a result of injuries suffered by Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele, so breaking their transfer record for a back-up striker would raise a few eyebrows.
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