Celtic may have been handed a boost in pursuit of Andriy Lunin by the wife of the Real Madrid and Ukraine goalkeeper.
According to the Daily Record, the Scottish Premiership champions have identified the £11 million La Liga glovesman as a potential long-term replacement for Joe Hart, with the veteran Englishman set to become a free-agent at the end of the current campaign.
And, when quizzed about the future of her Bernabeu-based husband this week, Anastasia Lunin did little to calm the speculation, the potential of more regular first-team football at Celtic likely to appeal to a man who has only played three times all season despite an injury to Thibaut Courtois.
Celtic eye Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin
“If there is a club that will let him play, I think we will leave,” Lunin’s partner writes on Instagram, via Madrid Xtra. “If there is a club where he will be allowed to play, then of course we are ready to move.”
Lunin was only included in Carlo Ancelotti’s XI during the 3-0 Champions League victory over Braga in midweek after Kepa Arrizabalaga – brought in on loan from Chelsea after Courtois ruptured his ACL – joined the Belgian on the sidelines.
The former Zorya Luhansk starlet certainly didn’t let a rare opportunity pass him by, however. Lunin saved a penalty at 0-0 before pulling off one of the finest reflex stops in this season’s group-stages.
Lunin himself, meanwhile, is not ruling out a move away from the Spanish capital either. Courtois is likely to be reinstated as Real Madrid’s number one as soon as he is back to full fitness.
Joe Hart replacement?
“At the end of last season, I was thinking about (leaving Madrid),” Lunin said recently (Madrid Xtra). “It’s normal (to consider a fresh start) when you don’t play.
“Real Madrid has always been a dream since I was young. You don’t really want to leave. But you always want to play, you train to play, you want to feel the emotions of the games.
“We will see.”
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