Philadelphia Union have confirmed Celtic’s interest in star defender Mark McKenzie on their official website.
Considering that there are just two natural centre-halves remaining in Neil Lennon’s squad, and one of those remains in the sights of AC Milan, defensive reinforcements cannot come soon enough.
And, amid speculation linking the £1 million-rated McKenzie with a move to the Glasgow giants, Philadelphia Union have taken the rather unusual step of admitting that Celtic have indeed been in touch regarding their ‘Rolls Royce’ of a centre-half.
“His pace raised eyebrows, but his game intelligence cued phone calls. Celtic and others saw the prospect becoming the powerhouse,” the MLS outfit write.
While Brendan Rodgers’ ‘death-by-a-thousand-passes’ approach has been replaced with something a littlemore vertical, to borrow a continental expression, ‘Lennonball’ still has it’s roots in dominating possession and starting attacks from Celtic’s own goal-line.
Fortunately, the Bronx-born McKenzie is as effective with the ball as he is without it.
“He is good with the ball at his feet and he will play out of defence with confidence,” his former coach Iain Munro told the Record, describing the USA international as a ‘Rolls Royce’ of a footballer.
With Christopher Jullien looking more like a £7,000 defender than a £7 million one during Celtic’s 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock last time out, there is certainly a place up for grabs at the heart of Lennon’s backline.
McKenzie has the finesse and the power to ease the pain of Ajer’s likely departure, while representing an upgrade on Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed.
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