Scottish Premiership champions Celtic were interested in Stoke City’s Bauer but he could return to the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Celtic’s search for a new right-back is showing no signs of coming to an end with the list of targets getting longer and longer.
The Hoops have already missed out on Cristiano Piccini and Conner Roberts while Timothy Castagne and Omar Elabdellaoui could both prove to be too expensive with price-tags of £10 million and £8 million respectively, according to The Express.
And latest reports from south of the border suggest that another right-sided defender is set to slip through Celtic’s fingers for good.
The Scottish Daily Mail reported late in the summer transfer window that Brendan Rodgers had made an enquiry about Stoke City’s Austrian international Mortiz Bauer, though they failed to get the deal over the line.
The Telegraph, however, is claiming that Bauer could be on his way to Wolverhampton Wanderers instead. It is understood that Wolves want the former Rubin Kazan defender, who moved to Stoke for £4 million a year ago, as competition for the rampaging Matt Doherty.
So where do Celtic go from here? It is not too late for Rodgers to make a fresh approach for the 26-year-old and the Glasgow giants could have a few advantages over their Premier League counterparts.
For one, Celtic can offer Bauer regular first-team football in place of the declining Lustig. At Molineux, he would likely be warming the bench with Doherty starring in the top flight.
And with Wolves only wanting to sign Bauer on loan, the prospect of a permanent move to Celtic should appeal for a player who has struggled to settle in recent months.
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