Birmingham City cannot afford to sign Riley McGree on a permanent deal with the £3 million-rated midfielder closing in on a move to Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, as reported by The Sun (9 January, page 59).
Last month, Ange Postecoglou went public with his desire to see a slew of new faces arrive at Parkhead during the winter. And, just ten days into January, Celtic appear to be closing in on a fifth signing already.
If it wasn’t clear already, Postecoglou certainly has the backing of his Paradise bosses.
J-League trio Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate have already arrived.
As has Johnny Kenny, the exciting Sligo Rovers forward who signed on the dotted line after Celtic fought off competition from top-flight rivals Hibernian.
According to the Scottish Sun, the Glasgow giants are closing in on a deal that will see McGree become signing number five.
The technically-gifted attacking midfielder is set to reunite with the coach who handed him his debut for the Australian national team back in 2017 at the age of just 18.
Is Riley McGree signing for Celtic?
The £3 million-rated playmaker expected to leave MLS newcomers Charlotte FC before the month is out. And Celtic are the current frontrunners for his signature.
The former Club Brugge youngster has experience of life on British soil, impressing on loan at Birmingham City in the first half of this season.
But it is understood that McGree’s wage demands, not to mention his £3 million price-tag, has extinguished any hope Lee Bowyer may have had of securing a full-time deal for the 23-year-old schemer.
“No, I don’t think so,” Bowyer sighed when asked a few weeks ago if he expected McGree to stay at St Andrews, via the Birmingham Mail.
“Apparently he is going back (to Charlotte FC).
“That will be a blow. Riley has been superb. He steps up and he performs and he fights for the team.”
An upwardly-mobile Middlesbrough and a play-off seeking Nottingham Forest side who knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup on Sunday are also keen on McGree.
Celtic’s interest, however, is nothing new.
As reported by the Scottish Sun, the Hoops first expressed their interest in a teenage McGree back in 2017.
Five years on, the presence of Postecoglou in the Parkhead dugout will do Celtic’s hopes of finally snapping up a long-term transfer target no harm at all.
“I thought he looked exciting from the moment he broke into the (Adelaide United) team,” Postecoglou said five years ago.
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