Norway right-back Omar Elabdellaoui has been linked with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic after impressing for Olympiakos in Greece.
Time is running out and Celtic are no closer to signing either a right-back or a left-back before it is too late.
Neil Lennon needs to fill the void created by Kieran Tierney’s £25 million move to Arsenal on the final day of the English transfer window but the Scottish Premiership champions are looking a little short of options on the right as well.
Yes, Hatem Abd Elhamed has been brought in from Hapoel Be’er Sheva but youngster Anthony Ralston is the only other right-back on Celtic’s books.
According to the Record, Norway international Omar Elabdellaoui is on Celtic’s radar but a move to Glasgow is now apparently ‘unlikely’ for the former Hull and Manchester City flyer.
And, as we all feared, that shocking defeat to Cluj has come back to bite the Hoops on the backside. While Celtic threw away their chances of qualifying for the Champions League with a 4-3 loss to Romanian opposition at Parkhead, Elabdellaoui’s Olympiakos have one foot and four toes in the group stage.
The rampaging right-back, who is valued at £4 million (Mail, 17 August, back page) captained Olympiakos to a 4-0 win against Krasnodar in the first leg in Piraeus last week and The Record believes that he’s not going to walk away to join a Celtic side who will miss out on Europe’s premiere club competition for at least another 12 months.
And, to be honest, who can blame him? Celtic’s failure to reach the Champions League means their ability to attract the top targets has been seriously compromised.
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