Celtic defender Efe Ambrose was reportedly in the middle of a tug-of-war between Newcastle United and Sunderland – but where will he end up?
The last time Newcastle United bought a centre-back from the Old Firm, it didn’t end well for either party.
And with many Celtic supporters turning Efe Ambrose into a somewhat unfortunate scapegoat, Magpies supporters could be forgiven for having flashbacks of one Jean-Alain Boumsong as the Nigerian is linked with a shock switch to St James’ Park, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
The 28-year-old has restored his reputation somewhat by reuniting with former Celtic gaffer Neil Lennon at Hibernian, helping the Edinburgh giants cruise to the second tier title after arriving on loan in January.
Nonetheless, the fact that Ambrose was excluded for the entire first-half of the season by Brendan Rodgers after an error-strewn pre-season does not reflect well on Newcastle’s reported interest.
Ambrose with Jozo Simunovic, who has also been linked with Newcastle
However, if Magpies manager Rafael Benitez is indeed hoping to add the out-of-contract defender to his squad ahead of their Premier League return, he may just have received a major boost.
Out of the running?
According to The Chronicle, Sunderland manager David Moyes travelled to Scotland to personally watch Ambrose in action as Hibernian clashed with Dundee United in the Championship. And luck would have it that the object of Moyes’ affections put in a Man of the Match display at Tannadyce.
However, following the Scot’s sudden, if not unexpected, resignation on Monday, it appears that Sunderland can now be discounted as a potential destination.
Which, if reports are to be believed, could make Newcastle his most likely destination south of the border – although a permanent deal at Hibernian appears to be a far more believable end to his particular transfer saga.
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