Manchester City defender Pablo Mari could be on the move in 2018.
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester City defender Pablo Mari is attracting interest ahead of the January transfer window due to a low release clause in his deal.
Mari, 24, joined City from Gimnastic in his native Spain back in 2016, but spent last season out on loan with Girona, where he helped the club win promotion.
The centre back was loaned out to another club City have strong links with, NAC Breda, this past summer, and he has yet to make a competitive appearance for City, but he is attracting interest.
The Daily Mail report that Premier League and Championship clubs are keen to land Mari, having learned that he has a low release clause in his City contract, with activation of that clause potentially ending his NAC loan spell.
With Mari attracting interest, one team who should be taking notice is Celtic, given their ties to Manchester City and their desperate need for a centre back in January.
The Bhoys have seen Erik Sviatchenko and Jozo Simunovic suffer injuries this season, and with Brendan Rodgers short of options, midfielders Nir Bitton and Kristoffer Ajer have both been called into action in defence.
Mari, a 6ft 3in defender whose leadership skills have been praised, has the potential to improve Celtic’s defence, whilst also offering an instant boost to Rodgers’ defensive options.
Celtic’s recent deals with City – which have seen them sign Jason Denayer, John Guidetti, Dedryck Boyata, Olivier Ntcham and Patrick Roberts in the last three-and-a-half years – should be used again here, in order to give Rodgers the defender he needs, and to hijack interest from Premier League clubs.
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