Celtic backed out of an £800k deal to sign South African defender Rivaldo Coetzee – but could now pay far more to sign Liam Moore from Reading.
With a month and a half to go until the January transfer window swings open, there is one priority at the top of Brendan Rodgers’ to-do list; find a new centre-back.
Thanks to a raft of injuries that has left Erik Sviatchenko, Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata on the sidelines for prolonged periods this season, Celtic have been unable to field a settled back four while the lack of defensive depth has caused plenty of selection headaches.
And, according to the Daily Record, Rodgers’ desire for a new centre-back has even got Celtic considering a £5 million move for Reading stopper Liam Moore – a move which would make the former Leicester City man the fifth most expensive signing in the club’s history.
That failed summer deal for Rivaldo Coetzee, then, is looking even more costly – literally. According to the Daily Record (22nd August) Celtic would have had to pay just £800,000 for Ajax Cape Town’s South African international centre-half, whose youth and quality in possession appeared to make him a perfect Rodgers signing.
With the deal all but done, however, Celtic backed out at the eleventh hour after discovering a problem with Coetzee’s foot during their medical.
That did not stop the 21-year-old making a move to Mamelodi Sundowns just days later, however. And Coetzee is continuing to impress as he stakes a claim to be one of African football’s most exciting defensive prospects
Considering that Celtic may have to pay around £4 million more to sign Moore in January, failing to complete that bargain deal for Coetzee looks like a real missed opportunity.
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