AC Milan defender Diego Laxalt has rejected a £52,000-a-week offer from Al-Hilal, with Gianluca Di Marzio reporting that he wants a permanent contract at Celtic instead.
In what has been a rather grim season for the soon-to-be dethroned champions of Scotland, the tenacious Uruguayan international has been a beacon of light shining through the darkness.
Laxalt wasted no time becoming an immediate cult hero in the green half of Glasgow, with his blood-and-thunder approach standing out in a team often devoid of character and aggression.
It remains to be seen whether Celtic are willing to pay the £9 million fee required to turn Laxalt’s loan deal into a permanent transfer, however.
The Hoops, like most clubs, have been hit hard in the pocket by an ongoing absence of fans in this COVID-afflicted environment.
And Laxalt still needs to improve substantially in the attacking third if he is to justify becoming the joint-most expensive signing in Celtic’s history.
Di Marzio suggests that the former Torino and Genoa man would jump at the chance to put pen to paper on a long-term deal with the Glasgow giants, however, and has turned down a money-spinning offer from the Middle East.
Saudi Arabian table-toppers Al-Hilal have offered Laxalt a £2.7 million-a-year deal (£52,000-a-week).
You’d imagine that the Montevideo-born 27-year-old would earn a lot less at Celtic if he stays in Scotland for the long haul.
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