Celtic's potential new signing: All you need to know about Dusko Tosic

By Ruari Macneil

January 17, 2018

News broke Wednesday of Celtic’s £2.65m bid for Besiktas central-defender Dusko Tosic.

A deal is believed to be on the cards, however, it is thought that the Turkish giants are holding out for an improved offer of £3.5m for the Serbian.

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Celtic were handed a boost after Besiktas confirmed the signing of Dynamo Kiev and Croatia centre-half Domagoj Vida, which appears to pave the way for a deal for Tisic.

Tosic, 32, is the same age as January signing Marvin Compper, who was purchased for just £1m from RB Leipzig. Tosic, however, would arrive with one major bonus over Compper – the Serbian international would be eligible to play for the Hoops in the Europa League, despite having played in all of Besiktas’ group games in the Champions League this season.

Compper remains cup-tied due to the fact that RB Leipzig and Celtic are still competing in the same European competition, whilst Besiktas, who stormed through their group earning a tasty knock-out tie against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, aren’t.

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It is quite Rodger’s Celtic to purchase players over the age of 30, however with so much youth in the squad, perhaps the addition of a few old heads wouldn’t go amiss. 32 is still a good age for a central defender, and the Serbian is clearly highly rated having been attracting interest from some of the Premier League’s finest – Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and most recently West Ham have all been reported as having an interest.

With 400 games professional experience across a handful of different countries, Tosic could be the type of experienced European player to help the Celts progress in the Champions League next season. He will be all the more required given Erik Sviatchenko’s confirmed loan move to FC Midtjylland.

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A back-to-back Turkish league winner with Besiktas, the 21 times capped Serb is also a proven winner, which is important for anyone donning the green and white of Glasgow.

Should Peter Lawell break the bank and land the 32-year-old, this can only bode well for the likes of 19-year-old Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic (should he stay). The youngsters have lacked a guiding hand in defense  to feed off and this could now play a huge role in their own development.

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With Celtic in arguably in the most financially stable position in their history, £3.5m is not an outrageous amount, especially considering the additional funds the club will received from Southampton’s sale of Virgil Van Dijk to Liverpool.

List page image © Ronnie Macdonald