LASK Linz winger Husein Balic has given links with Celtic and Southampton the cold shoulder, telling Reprezentacija that he has no interest in speculation at present.
The January transfer window is just a month-and-a-half away and, at both ends of Britain, winter rumours are starting to emerge.
The Mail reported recently that Southampton, Brentford and Celtic are all on the trial of a rapid winger nicknamed ‘the Sprinter’ due to a turn of pace that would threaten to leave even Usain Bolt on his heels.
Furthermore, with Austrian outfit LASK hit hard by an ongoing financial crisis that continues to engulf most of European football, Balic could be available for just £2.8 million in January.
Not that the man himself is getting over-excited.
24-year-old Balic is focusing solely on what could be a long-awaited international debut against Luxembourg tomorrow.
“I also read (links with Celtic and Southampton) in the media. We need to wait and see how much truth there is in all this, that is, how concrete it is. But I don’t care much for that,” Balic said.
“I am focusing only on the national team and my club. Work needs to be done on the pitch in the right way.”
Balic, a right-footed left-winger who tallied eight goals and five assists last season, is reportedly capable of producing sprints of up to 24 mph; making him one of the quickest players in the world today.
A player with such break-neck speed would not look out of place in a Southampton side who, under Ralph Hasenhuttl, have taken English football by storm with their Bundesliga-style counter-attacking approach.
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