Udinese are reportedly on the verge of selling Brandon Soppy to Serie A rivals Atalanta just one year after the Italian side beat Celtic to sign the 20-year-old defender.
According to Sky Italia, the former Stade Rennais fullback is on the verge of signing for Atalanta in a deal that could be worth €10m (£8m), with Soppy leaving Udinese just one year after joining I Friulani despite strong interest from Celtic and Ange Postecoglou.
Reports at the time claimed that Celtic opened talks to sign Soppy from the French side, though Udinese eventually won the race for the defender in a reported £1.5m deal, with the Serie A side set to make an impressive profit on the defender should his move to Atalanta go through in the coming days.
Labelled by Fabrizio Romano as a ‘huge talent’, Soppy impressed in his one year in Udine, with the defender catching the eyes of Atalanta, who in recent years have become arguably the best side in Europe for developing fullbacks from uncut gems into diamonds in the Italian top-flight.
And Soppy could be the next player on the Atalanta production line to develop into such a threat, much to the dismay of Celtic, who last year, at one point, looked like the strong favourites to sign the France youth international from Rennes.
Indeed, whilst Anthony Ralston has since flourished in the right-back position, this update on Soppy should sting Celtic given how much the defender is leaving Udinese for, with Atalanta potentially having another exciting project on their hands in the 20-year-old fullback.
Soppy could become a star for Atalanta ahead of £8m signing
As mentioned, Atalanta’s track record for developing fullbacks is arguably the best in all of Europe, with Gian Piero Gasperini’s system perfectly suited to any player looking to excel in the position, and Soppy can easily become the latest success story for the Bergamo giants.
Although there will be no European football for Atalanta this season, Soppy is signing for the perfect club to take his career to the next level, and for Celtic, they could be kicking themselves for missing out on the defender last year, with Udinese set for a massive pay day this week.
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