Borussia Dortmund right-back Jeremy Toljan has joined Celtic on-loan until the end of the season, the Hoops have confirmed.
The former Hoffenheim star was the right-back deal supporters were after, and he becomes the fourth official signing of the day.
The club have been linked with several right-backs over the last month. In typical fashion, however, Celtic have brought one in at the last minute.
Toljan’s arrival puts the place of Mikael Lustig under serious threat. The Swede’s contract is up at the end of the season, and now has a massive fight on his hands.
The general consensus among supporters is that Toljan is Lustig’s temporary replacement, but nobody has confirmed that. It remains to be seen, however, whether he comes right into contention for Sunday’s trip to McDiarmid Park.
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Sky Sports News earlier reported that Toljan is expected to fly out tomorrow (Friday) and join up with his team-mates. There was no chance of the deal missing the midnight deadline, according to Sky.
An impressive first year at Dortmund
The right-back has yet to feature at all this season, therefore question marks over his match-sharpness are reasonable. But that came after a campaign in which he made 19 starts for Dortmund after signing in the summer of 2017.
The form of Lukasz Piszczek has unfortunately frozen Toljan out this term, which is no disgrace. Dortmund sit at the top of the Bundesliga, so that shows the level of competition he’s playing at.
The loan deal, of course, runs out at the end of the season, meaning Celtic now have a further four of five months to find a new permanent right-back.
But, for now, this is an exciting signing for the Champions. Toljan is a German international at every level outside of senior. He was, however, part of the 2016 Summer Olympic German team, making six appearances before winning the silver medal.
Rodgers will hopefully reveal at his press conference tomorrow whether Toljan will be available for Sunday. Until then, at least we can be safe in the knowledge that the right-back situation has been sorted for now.