Many Celtic fans will remember the name Billel Omrani from earlier this season.
Not only has the Cluj forward faced Neil Lennon’s men on four separate occasions in European competition this term, but he was also a reported target for us back in the summer.
Back in late August, after we’d been dumped out the Champions League, Romanian outlet Gazeta Sporturilor reported that we were very close to signing the Frenchman, with negotiations at an advanced phase.
A reported fee of around £3million was also mentioned but, evidently, the move didn’t come to pass and Omrani stayed on at Cluj and helped them to the last 32 of the Europa League alongside ourselves.
Celtic may have been put off by recent Omrani scoring record
Given that we were, and maybe still are, in the market for another striker, it is perhaps a little strange that the Cluj man hasn’t been mentioned at all this month.
Perhaps that’s to do with the 26-year-old’s goalscoring return, which has dried up a lot in recent months.
Omrani has struck just one goal in his last 11 competitive outings and just six league goals all season.
He was clearly in a rich vein of form when we met him in the summer, but perhaps he was playing above his level at that stage.
Nevertheless, he did always look a talented enough player who could offer us something in the final third.
Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion seem to think the same if a recent report is anything to go by.
Freelance journalist Ignazio Genuardi reported that the Seagulls had bid around €3.5million for the forward.
As Get Football News France also passed on this story, it’s fair to assume that there was something to it.
At that fee we could certainly give the English side some competition for Omrani’s signature. But it seems very much like our interest has waned on this one.
And given his recent record you can’t imagine that too many Celtic fans will be gutted about that.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
