Celtic were ‘desperate’ to sign ‘incredibly fast’ £5m ace, could now be available again

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Celtic wanted Ko Itakura last summer and they may now have a golden chance to finally sign him with Schalke struggling to land him permanently.

Celtic are chasing a permanent deal for Cameron Carter-Vickers after an impressive loan stay from Tottenham Hotspur.

Carter-Vickers had a strong partnership with Carl Starfelt but even if the American does join permanently, Celtic could still look for another defender.

Ange Postecoglou will have plenty of defenders on the wish list just in case Carter-Vickers doesn’t stay – and Itakura may well be one of them.

Celtic wanted Ko Itakura

Ange Postecoglou arrived as Celtic boss last summer and there were almost immediate links with a move for Itakura.

Postecoglou arrived from a team within the City Football Group – Yokohama F Marinos – whilst Itakura was owned by City.

Add in that Postecoglou had a great knowledge of the Japanese market and signing Japan international Itakura made sense.

The Daily Record noted that Postecoglou wanted to sign Itakura but he ended up joining Schalke instead.

Schalke director Rouven Schroder claimed that Celtic were chasing Itakura for over a year and were ‘desperate’ to sign him.

Itakura, 25, enjoyed a great season with Schalke having scored four times in 31 games whilst winning promotion to the Bundesliga.

However, Itakura could now be sent back to City despite Schalke holding a permanent option.

Bild claim that Schalke have until May 31st to decide whether to use their permanent clause on Itakura.

The deal is only worth £5million but Schalke are apparently struggling to pay that fee and a deal is now looking in doubt.

Sky Germany report that three Bundesliga clubs have joined the race for Itakura and Schalke may simply back out of the race.

Should Itakura become available again, don’t be surprised to see the ‘incredibly fast’ defender finally end up at Celtic given how long the Bhoys have admired him.