With Celtic down to their last fit goalkeeper the club are in desperate need of additional options between the sticks.
This is potentially disastrous news for Brendan Rodgers, who recently sanctioned a loan move away for third-choice ‘keeper Conor Hazard, 19.
The club are now left with only one fit goalkeeper in their squad, former Nottingham Forest man Dorus De Vries, who has barely featured since joining the Celts ahead of last season.
De Vries looks almost certain to start Celtic’s Europa League knock-out tie against Zenit St Petersburg unless the Hoops can land a suitable replacement before the end of the January transfer window on Wednesday.
Either way, a goalkeeper must be brought in, at least as a backup option, and Manchester United’s Joel Castro Pereira could be a perfect fit.
Pereira, 21, is highly rated at Old Trafford and is believed to have a very bright future ahead of him. However, with David de Gea and Sergio Romero ahead of him in the pecking order, the Portugal under-21 international has struggled for game time.
So far he has featured three times for United and has spent time away on loan with both Rochdale and Belenenses.
Should Celtic explore the option of a loan, Jose Mourinho may well be keen on allowing his youngster the opportunity to go away and play; especially at a huge club like Celtic with the chance of winning silverware and European football on the cards: two things very much required in terms of experience for any Manchester United player.
Pereira is currently contracted at Old Trafford until 2021 and has even been tipped to take over from first choice De Gea should the Spaniard seal a move away from England to the likes of Real Madrid, who have been close admirers of the shot-stopper for quite a number of years now.
A move to Celtic for Pereira would be brilliant business for both parties and also seems like a realistic possibility should the deal be explored.
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