Celtic’s need to replace Joe Hart took a sharp turn last week after the veteran goalkeeper announced his intention to retire at the end of the season.
The 36-year-old has been an excellent replacement for Vasilis Barkas and has gone on to win five trophies during his time in Glasgow.
Hart has every intention of grabbing the last two remaining pieces of silverware left in Scotland this season and when he does that Brendan Rodgers must then look at the arduous task of replacing the popular Celtic player come May
One target that has already been mentioned on various occasions is the Republic of Ireland and Liverpool keeper, Caoimhin Kelleher.
We told yesterday how Celtic are reportedly keen on the 25-year-old as the speculation from the summer continues.
And today, we now share how much it is going to cost Celtic to get him if they want to make their interest a reality.
Caoimhin Kelleher could cost Celtic at least £20m
After his heroics in the League Cup final in England at the weekend, it seems that Kelleher may have saved his Liverpool career.
An ever-present in Liverpool’s League Cup squad, the Irishman has struggled to stake a claim for the number one jersey in the Premier League.
At one point it did seem that he could be on his way out of Merseyside but that may all have changed now after Liverpool’s cup success. That’s according to Mark Guidi.
Guidi said [The Go Radio Football Show], “He’s going to be a hard man to replace [Joe Hart]. A lot of Celtic supporters weren’t really having him and wanted him replaced.
“Where Celtic go I don’t know but if somebody becomes available and they need to go and spend £7m, go and do it.
“Because you wouldn’t win anything without a top goalkeeper. That’s a fact.
“They have been linked to Kelleher at Liverpool and I said three or four weeks ago, Liverpool will be looking for at least £20m for him. At least £20m.
“After his performance yesterday, it could be £30m. In fact Liverpool probably won’t let him go. They’ll just tie him into a new deal and say give me another year or so but you are the successor to Allison.”
I think it’s fair to say that even at a third of £30m, Celtic’s interest at that point would be over.
There is no chance that the club would pay anywhere near that fee or the wages to boot for a player in this current climate.
Whilst Celtic do have a lot of financial resources available to them, Kelleher is clearly now out of our reach.
So who does Brendan Rodgers turn to? Who does the Celtic manager have in mind to fill such huge gloves?
One thing is for sure, they simply cannot get this one wrong as we have already had a Barkas-sized warning to show what can happen if the right goalkeeper isn’t brought in.
In other news, Pat Bonner says Celtic fans did something really ‘strange’ during the Motherwell game
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