Celtic could be given a golden opportunity to make amends for their summer failures and finally conclude a deal for Cristiano Piccini.
The right-back’s future at Valencia is reportedly uncertain after his agent met with directors in Turin.
The summer signing cost the Spanish side a reported €10m to acquire from Sporting Lisbon.
Celtic’s monumental failure in the summer to land Brendan Rodgers’ top targets left a sour taste in the mouth of the Hoops manager.
One of the targets, believed to have been Piccini, was apparently in Celtic’s grasp earlier on in the summer according to the Daily Record.
The Italian opted for Valencia, and Celtic crashed out of the Champions League qualifiers away to Athens.
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With Celtic’s defence being highly suspect, in particular Mikael Lustig, failure to land a new right-back has been a concern for fans.
However, did Celtic dodge a bullet when they missed out on the Italian defender?
Piccini didn’t cover himself in glory in his Valencia debut. Some even went as far to say it was an ‘awful’ debut. He’s only made 11 appearances so far for his new side, including two in the Champions League.
He commits just under a foul a game and has neither a goal nor an assist for Valencia this season.
With empty attacking stats, it is questioned whether he can make a contribution to Celtic’s expansive play.
However, he has forced his way into the Italian national team, making two substitute appearances recently.
Second chance?
There are many positives for Celtic if they move for Piccini again.
At 26, the Italian is still to hit his peak, and has enough experience at a high level to suggest he’d be a good signing.
The right-back position is one Celtic will need to address. An Italian international is certainly not the worst option for Celtic.
He may have struggled in La Liga, but he won’t be coming up against that sort of competition at Celtic.
He’s reportedly someone that the manager asked for in the summer. If the chance arises again, Celtic must appease their manager and go after their man.