Report: Celtic show interest in Real Betis defender Antonio Barragan

Follow us on Google Discover

Celtic are said to be on the hunt for another right-back this summer.

The Scottish Daily Mail (24/07 print edition, page 82) report that Real Betis right-back Antonio Barragan is one of the defenders that Celtic are interested in signing this summer.

The paper say that Neil Lennon is on the hunt for a second right-back to complement the arrival of Hatem Abd Elhamed from Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Barragan is on the list of potential recruits.

The 32-year-old Spaniard is an experienced operator having played at the elite level for the majority of his career in La Liga with Valencia, Real Valladolid and Betis.

He also spent a short time in the English Premier League with Middlesbrough.

Celtic are not often in the market for players in their 30s so how viable the interest is, is uncertain. However, the Scottish Daily Mail’s chief football writer Stephen McGowan believes that the Scottish champions have “run checks” on the player.

He is apparently one of two priorities for the right-back slot, alongside FC Basel defender Silvan Widmer.

The Hoops said goodbye to three right-backs at the end of last season – Mikael Lustig, Jeremy Toljan and Cristian Gamboa – and in early qualifiers have relied on central defender Kristoffer Ajer on the right flank.

Ajer has performed admirably but his strengths are best suited to performing in the heart of the defensive line and Celtic need a specialist right-back who can shine for the club in domestic and continental competition.

Barragan made 151 appearances for Valencia in total, appearing regularly in the Spanish top-flight as well as in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

New signing Elhamed appears to be earmarked for the position but played the majority of his games last season for Be’er Sheva at centre-back too.

His lack of specialism isn’t going down too well with some supporters.

Barragan may be 32, but ticks the boxes in all other respects and it’ll be interesting to see if the recruitment team at Celtic Park follow up their reported interest.