RB Leipzig defender Marvin Compper has struggled for chances in the Bundesliga, leading to talk of a move to the Scottish Premiership with Celtic.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out why signing a new centre-back is Brendan Rodgers’ New Years’ resolution.
Celtic’s defence has been decimated by injuries this season, so much so that central midfielder Nir Bitton has been reshaped into an orthodox defender with the champions’ squad stretched to the limit.
Erik Sviatchenko, Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic have all spent time on the sidelines for different reasons this season. And while Celtic have dealt admirably with this handicap on home soil, a series of disastrous defensive displays in Europe will have concerned Rodgers.
But it seems increasingly unlikely that RB Leipzig’s experienced centre-back Marvin Compper will be the answer to Rodgers’ problems.
According to the Daily Record, the 32-year-old has emerged as a genuine target for Celtic in January- and it was understood that Leipzig’s sporting director Ralf Rangnick would be willing to listen to offers of around £1 million with Compper well down the pecking order at the Bundesliga club.
It appears Rangnick shares a different view to his manager, however. As reported by the Scottish Sun, Leipzig’s highly-rated manager Ralf Hasenhuttl stated that he had no desire to see Compper leave the Red Bull Arena in January with injuries stacking up in his defence – forcing him to hand the one-time Germany international a rare league appearance in the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Mainz.
Ironically, it appears that Celtic could miss out on Compper for exactly the same reason why they wanted to sign him in the first place.
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