Celtic are set to officially miss out on Bodo/Glimt superstar Ola Solbakken this week, with the forward set to sign a four-year contract with AS Roma ahead of a move to the Italian side in January.
According to Il Tempo, the Norweigian attacker has agreed to a contract with Jose Mourinho’s side that will see Solbakken sign for Roma in January, with the Norweigian’s contract with Bodo/Glimt set to expire on December 31st of this year.
The Scottish Daily Mail had reported in the summer that Solbakken was on Celtic’s radar had the Hoops failed to sign Jota from Benfica on a permanent deal. And although this transfer did come happen, there’s no denying that Ange Postecoglou could have done with the extra depth in attacker with the Bodo/Glimt superstar.
However, the ship to sign Solbakken has now sailed, with the attacker set to join Roma in a deal that could be quite a could for the Serie A titans, with Celtic potentially facing the Italians in Europe if the pair are drawn together in the UEFA Europa League in the knockout stages.
Indeed, Celtic missing out on Solbakken to a European rival will sting for the Hoops, especially given how much time the Scottish giants had to complete a deal for the 24-year-old attacker. However, their loss is now Roma’s gain, and Mourinho could have just landed quite the coup for the January window.
The versatile winger bagged eight goals and nine assists in all competitions in 2022 as Bodo/Glimt retained the Eliteserien title and qualified for the Europa League, and for Roma, Solbakken could be quite the addition for the second half of the season, much to the dismay of Celtic.
Celtic could regret allowing Roma to sign Solbakken in January
Solbakken’s form for Bodo/Glimt over the past two years has been nothing short of impressive, and Roma now look set to land themselves a bargain in the winger, who could be a good fit for Serie A football given his style of play, with Celtic potentially ruing their chance to bring the attacker to Scotland.
After all, Solbakken has been one of the best wingers in Scandinavia this year, and at just 24, the attacker has a lot of room to improve his game, and moving to Celtic might have been an even better move than signing for Roma given the quality of competition in the Scottish Premiership compared to Serie A.