Niklas Dorsch is a £2.8m target for Scottish Premiership champions Celtic after failing to make the grade at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
Celtic might no longer view possession as football’s prevailing principle as they did during the Brendan Rodgers era but that is not to say that Neil Lennon has no need for midfielders capable of dominating the ball at home and abroad.
And in Niklas Dorsch, The Hoops might have found a player who is the perfect fit for the patient yet purposeful style Lennon has introduced since he returned to Parkhead in the spring.
According to the Telegraph, Celtic have made Niklas Dorsch a key target ahead of the January transfer window. The German didn’t quite make the grade at Bayern Munich despite scoring on his Bundesliga debut last year (he’s now playing for Heidenheim after six seasons at the Allianz Arena) but he has shone in Germany’s second tier.
So much so that Celtic, the report adds, would have no qualms about triggering his £2.8 million release clause.
And given the way that Dorsch caresses the ball around the pitch, strokes every pass like a paint brush on a canvas, it is no surprise that he grew up idolising another midfielder who rose through the ranks at perennial Bundesliga champions Bayern.
“Toni Kroos was the first player from whom I learned by watching,” the 21-year-old told Goal back in 2017.
Kroos, a World Cup and Champions League winner with Germany and Real Madrid, is arguably the greatest passer of the ball in European football.
And while Dorsch has never quite hit those stratospheric standards, his ability to distribute the ball effectively from the centre of the park means ‘Lennonball’ should fit his style like a snug, tailor-made mitten.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
