AEK Athens are demanding a colossal fee for Levi Garcia with a rumoured price-tag of £13 million surely bringing an end to any hopes Celtic may have had of luring the striker to Parkhead.
There could hardly have been a more fitting way for Celtic to confirm their second Premiership title of the Ange Postecoglou era.
Two players who followed their manager from Japanese football – Oh Hyeon-Gyu and the talismanic Kyogo Furuhashi – scoring the goals which saw off Hearts at Tynecastle, ensuring that the green-and-white ribbons would remain in place for a further 12 months.
The success of the Postecoglou era at Celtic is as much the result of the club’s terrific recruitment as it is his expert management; Kyogo and Oh just of the many two players who arrived as unknown quantities but now have their own small place in Hoops history.
Celtic like AEK Athens striker Levi Garcia
Levi Garcia, in some ways, would have been a signing typical of modern-day Celtic. A young, hungry, cosmopolitan talent brought in from a far-flung market. Garcia, after spells in the Netherlands and Israel, has hit double figures for the first time at AEK Athens.
Celtic, according to the Scottish Sun, watched him score one of his 18 goals during AEK’s recent Greek Super League clash with Olympiakos.
But, with further reports indicating that representatives from no fewer than 15 clubs were in Athens recently to watch Garcia in the flesh, the chances of Garcia joining Kyogo and Oh at Parkhead seem slim. Especially with SportTime adding that the Trinidad and Tobago international has seen his price-tag ‘skyrocket’ during the most prolific campaign of his career.
AEK owner Dimitris Melissanidis is allegedly asking for a price ‘much higher than you might expect’. One in the region of 15 million euros, or £13 million. Even with Champions League money filling Postecoglou’s pocket, Celtic are unlikely to spend such a fee on a single player.
Garcia, who can play through the middle or on the right, may be a sign of things to come, however.
Celtic are potentially preparing for life without Liel Abada, after all. The Israeli forward wants to leave this summer, according to the president of his former employers Maccabi Petah Tikva.
Ajax and Benfica are among those reportedly keen.
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