Celtic have snapped up defender Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo.
Rapid Vienna sporting director Zoran Barisic has told The Scottish Sun that he thinks Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo will end up leaving Celtic for the Premier League.
Celtic were in the market for another left back this summer having seen Emilio Izaguirre leave the club in June, and wanted a player who could really push Kieran Tierney – or even succeed him.
The Bhoys ended up pouncing for Rapid Vienna star Bolingoli-Mbombo, who had impressed having spent two years in Austria following a move from Club Brugge.
The 24-year-old is a rapid left back who can both attack and defend, and Celtic will feel they’ve landed a decent deal at just £3million.
With Tierney out of action right now, Bolingoli-Mbombo has been featuring in the Champions League for Celtic, but has run into a couple of injury woes.
Celtic have high hopes for the Belgian, and Rapid Vienna seemingly still rate him highly, with sporting director Barisic having his say on his former left back.
Barisic believes that Bolingoli-Mbombo is already prepared for a club in a top five league – England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – and seemed a little surprised that he picked Scotland.
Barisic added that the move to Scotland means he’s closer to the Premier League in a geographic sense, predicting that he will move to a top-flight English side in the near future.
“Actually, I have no doubt that Boli is ready for the a club in one of the top five leagues in Europe, but he chose to go to Scotland,” said Barisic. “It does mean that he’s closer to the English Premier League which is where he will end up. So we had to let him go unfortunately and he’s proving to be very difficult to replace,” he added.
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