Bodo/Glimt star Patrick Berg will join RC Lens in a deal worth £3.7 million after the Ligue 1 outfit fought off competition from Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic, as reported by L’Equipe.
They do say every cloud has a silver lining. And it’s certainly true in this case.
Because while Celtic have missed out on the signing of a highly-talented midfielder, a key cog in Bodo/Glimt’s 2020 title winning machine, at least the Hoops will not have to come up against Berg when they travel to the Arctic Circle in February’s UEFA Conference League knockout-stages.
L’Equipe add further meat to the bones, claiming that the 24-year-old will set the Sang et Or back a cool £3.7 million.
Lens, it is believed, have succeeded in fighting off competition not only from Celtic but also from Eredivisie giants and Champions League dark-horses Ajax.
Quite the achievement.
Especially when you consider that, when the COVID-19 pandemic first reared it’s ugly head in the spring of 2020, Lens were still a second-tier club.
Who will join Celtic in the January transfer window?
Celtic sealed the first trophy of the Ange Postecoglou era on Sunday, coming from behind to beat Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final thanks to the supreme Kyogo Furuhashi’s heroics.
If Celtic laid the foundations for an all-new dynasty last summer, the January transfer window offers the ideal opportunity to continue an ambitious rebuilding project.
Berg will play no part in it, however, and neither will Gremio’s Fernando Henrique, it seems.
The Hoops are also set to miss out on Sligo Rovers striker Johnny Kenny to Sunday’s vanquished finalists.
It’s not all bad, though. J-League trio Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda – the division’s Golden Boot winner – are all expected to arrive for a combined fee in the region of £2 million.
As King Kyogo shows, there is plenty of value to be found in the Far East.
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