Celtic’s UECL rivals Bodo/Glimt will likely lose star-man Ola Solbakken to Galatasaray this month, according to Turkish outlet Fotospor.
The Euro report claims that Gala see the Norwegian talent as a replacement for Sofiane Feghouli. It’s also stated that they want to add Solbakken to their squad this month, despite the player’s contract being up in a year’s time.
Solbakken rocked Bodo/Glimt supporters last week when he stated he won’t be signing a new contract. He told Norwegian outlet Tronderbladet that the club has 2 transfer windows to sell him in. However, if the Norwegian champions want to get a substantial fee for the player, he’ll need to depart this month.
And Turkish newspaper Fotomac believes Galatasaray will secure a deal for the exciting talent in the coming weeks. It comes with Celtic squaring off against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League in February.
Bodo/Glimt have already lost top talents such as Patrick Berg and Erik Botheim respectively. Midfielder Fredrik Andre Bjorkan also signed for Hertha Berlin at the beginning of December.
The Norwegians are currently in their off-season after securing their second consecutive title at the end of 2021.
Ola Solbakken clearly wants out of Bodo/Glimt before Celtic tie
If Solbakken does leave Bodo/Glimt, Celtic’s Euro foes will lose a player who’s bagged 14 goals and 15 assists in 60 games for the club [Transfermarkt]. He’s been a major part of manager Kjetil Knutsen’s success over the last 2 years. It’s no surprise he’s now hot property.
It’s also important to recognise just how big an impact Solbakken has had in Europe in particular. This season alone he’s managed 5 goals and 2 assists in the Europa Conference League. He was a major part of the famous 6-1 win over Serie A giants Roma, against whom he netted a brace.
But it’s clear he’s ready for a new challenge. It’s clear, like Berg, Botheim, and Bjorkan, he sees his long-term future away from the Norwegian club. And even if he is forced to stay, he’ll be doing all he can to avoid picking up an injury heading into the summer.
This is one of the major pros of facing off against Bodo/Glimt at this stage of the competition. The Norwegians will effectively be in pre-season mode with their squad in the midst of a major rebuild. Whilst this is something Knutsen has built his reputation on, he’s highly unlikely to have his squad close to where he wants it by February.
At the moment, we’re just over a month before we face off against Knutsen’s side. As things stand, they haven’t even begun their rebuild ahead of the new season.
So everything is going in Celtic’s favour in the build-up. Fingers crossed it leads to the Hoops reaching a tempo of play that Bodo/Glimt struggle to match.
In other news, Why Karamoko Dembele’s Celtic contract is now a matter of urgency
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