Hajduk Split will demand a fee in excess of £5.3 million for Mario Vuskovic with Napoli battling Celtic for the talented centre-back, as reported by Area Napoli.
After a weekend of relentless speculation, Hajduk president Luksa Jakobusic has wasted little time making his stance clear.
When asked about the future of his much-coveted defender, Jakobusic insisted that the Croatian giants are ‘no longer in a position where we have to sell players to survive’ (Daily Record).
Message sent.
If Celtic, Napoli, Watford, Fiorentina or any of Vuskovic’s other suitors were hoping to snap up the Croatia U21 international on the cheap, they are very obviously barking up the wrong tree.
Hajduk will only cash in on Vuskovic if they receive an offer they cannot refuse.
AreaNapoli reports that £5.3 million is the minimum asking price.
Hajduk have already turned down bids in the region of £4.5 million for a commanding yet classy centre-half likened by some to Juventus’s former Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt.
Celtic have had an offer of their own batted away, although Area Napoli do not specify how much the Scottish giants were willing to pay for the 19-year-old.
A £5.3 million fee would make Vuskovic the seventh biggest signing in Celtic’s history – quite a statement to make regarding a teenager with just 31 league appearances under his belt.
Then again, the Hoops would not be making a move for Vuskovic in the first place if they didn’t think that, one day, he will be worth far more than £5.3 million.
Sign low, sell high; that is the Celtic model.
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