Celtic-linked Alberth Elis wants to move to England this summer

By David Walton

June 16, 2021

Celtic are said to be interested in Alberth Elis once again, but the player himself has already identified his preferred destination.

Portuguese outlet A Bola have stated that Celtic will try to rival West Ham United and Southampton for the Boavista winger.

Elis was previously linked with Celtic back in 2019, when he was said to have had a bid of £3m turned down for his services [Daily Record]. Now, however, it’s been said that he’ll cost as much as €10m [£8.6m] to take from Boavista [A Bola].

When he was first linked with Celtic, Elis had some interesting things to say about the Hoops. He stated that he was constantly asking former Celt Emilio Izaguirre to recommend him to the club [Daily Record]. Now, however, Elis appears to have his eyes set on a move straight to England.

Despite the link to Celtic that surfaced yesterday, Elis has already made it clear where his preferred destination is.

As quoted by Mais Futbol, Elis said: “I finished the season well at Boavista, that’s why there are teams interested in me. Most likely he will leave Boavista, but for now I have a contract and I’m calm. At the right time it will be official and everyone will know.

“We want it to be something good, my goal is to continue to evolve and look for bigger teams, I never hid it.

“I like the English league. For now they are just rumors, when there is something concrete it will soon be gone. If I have the opportunity to go to England I’ll take it, but for now there’s nothing.”

Celtic had their chance to sign Alberth Elis; now looks England bound

I’ve been signing for months and months about how we missed out on Elis. With eight goals and seven assists to his name this season, he’s been Boavista’s only real bright spot [Transfermarkt].

It’s even more brutal that we missed out on him in 2019 and 2010 when you look at our right-wing situation. James Forrest had been injured for the vast majority of the 2020/21 campaign. Had Elis been in the building, it could’ve gone a long way to saving our 10-in-a-row dreams.

We didn’t, and now we’re being linked with him at a time when his stock is sky-high and his price is too steep. Celtic won’t be spending £8.6m on anyone this summer. Certainly not a right-winger either.

Celtic-linked Alberth Elis in action for Boavista (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

There’s no chance of Boavista coming down from their valuation either. Why should they? He’s their most valuable asset and he’s currently contracted to the club for the next three years. Granted, Elis saying he wants to move on doesn’t help them, but they still hold all the aces.

Celtic need to shop smartly this summer. Had Elis still been angling to move to Parkhead then fair enough. Chances are he’ll likely see Celtic as a side-ways step now. Especially if he can waltz straight into a top 10 Premier League club.

We had our chance and blew it with this one. But it wouldn’t be Celtic if we didn’t.

In other news, the exciting new youth initiative Ange Postecoglou looks ready to bring to Celtic.