Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin has confirmed that young midfielder Connor Barron faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines through injury.
The 19-year-old has missed the start of the new competitive season after picking up an injury knock in pre-season in a friendly against Buckie Thistle.
Barron would have been looking to continue his impressive progress after nailing down a regular spot in the Dons side towards the back end of last season.
Those performances in the Aberdeen team led to interest from clubs across Europe, including Celtic, who were thought to be watching the midfielder closely after being left impressed by the youngster.
Jim Goodwin had earmarked Barron as a player who would have an important role within his new-look Aberdeen team, and it would take a ‘major offer’ to convince the Pittodrie side to sell.
Currently, the midfielder’s contract runs until 2024, and Dons chairman Dave Cormack also admitted that the club were looking to extend his deal past the next two years.
Ultimately, with the midfielder area being one that Ange Postecoglou has stacked full of options, it always seemed unlikely that a move would materialise. Particularly with the early stance, Aberdeen had taken.
However, that wasn’t to say a move by Celtic is never going to happen; with Barron being a player, the club might have an eye on for future transfer windows.
After watching Barron on several occasions last campaign, it doesn’t look as though Celtic will have the same opportunity to do that this year, with the talented youngster expected to have a spell on the sidelines.
Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin confirmed that he expects the academy graduate to be out for around six weeks, with a return after the World Cup this winter being eyed up as a potential return date for Barron.
He said [Daily Record]: “Connor will be back on the grass running in four weeks’ time, I would imagine. He is going to have some kind of mini pre-season from that point onwards.
“Connor will probably need a couple of weeks with the fitness guys. I would hope for a return to play from probably six weeks from now.
“We are not going to rush it, and it is one we have been quite cautious with. The circumstance of it, a bit of an innocuous one in terms of the Buckie Thistle game and the tackle.
“It is one that we don’t want to rush too early. So that’s probably not a bad gauge – after the World Cup.”
January transfer window could be an ideal time for Celtic to strike a move for Connor Barron.
At this stage, you can rule out the possibility of Connor Barron making a move to Parkhead in this window as he works on his recovery from injury.
However, the January transfer window could prove to be an ideal opportunity for the Hoops to make their move, should the club still be interested in the midfielder.
By the winter, Barron should hopefully be slowly returning to action with the Dons, and after a long spell on the sidelines, clubs such as Genk, who were also quoted with having an interest, may have turned their focus elsewhere.
Celtic could also hold an advantage over other interested parties, should Aberdeen be interested in making their loan move for Liam Scales permanent.
The defender could be used as a potential makeweight in a deal.
It should certainly be interesting to see if Celtic’s interest returns in the midfielder at some point next year.
In other news, “Perfect club for him” – Swedish coach delivers insightful verdict on Sead Haksabanovic’s Celtic move.
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