Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner has opened up on the discussions he’s had with Celtic regarding centre-back Mark McKenzie.
The Daily Record reported back in early July that the Hoops had McKenzie on their radar. It appears that the Parkhead side have already opened up a dialogue with Union too.
McKenzie himself has already touched on his dream of playing football in Europe (Daily Record), which bodes well for Celtic’s bid to snag him before the transfer window ends in October.
And speaking in comments published by the Record this morning, Union director Tanner has opened up on the current state of play.
“We have had interest. There was a talk with Celtic, but I told them: We were not willing to talk before the [MLS in Back] tournament or during the tournament, but maybe then later on. Will they come back? That is not in my obligation. That is up to Celtic. There is obviously a little bit of an interest, but there are so many players in the market at the moment.
“We have a situation where we don’t need to sell because we also have goals as a club. We do not have a club policy (in terms of sales). But everyone has objectives. We have a competitive team in our league and that’s quite a strong argument for us.
“You know American players, in general. It is their dream to go to Europe and that is okay. But, when you do a transfer, all sides have to come under one hat and that’s the critical point. I cannot speak for Celtic. I might think the interest (is serious), but as I said, there are so many players out there. It is not only Mark, but he’s an interesting asset.”
Recruitment at the back needs to accelerate
Celtic were always going to be in the market for a centre-back in any case, but the need for further competition has been strengthened after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock.
Kristoffer Ajer hasn’t impressed many, whilst Christopher Jullien continues to have problems with physical centre-forwards. Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed are in reserve, but more is needed after the departure of Jozo Simunovic.
McKenzie looks as though he would fit the bill. He’s comfortable on the ball, dominant in the air, and strong in the challenge. With 41 MLS appearances to his name with the Union too, McKenzie would arrive with a decent bit of first-team exposure (Transfermarkt).
With Celtic’s history of developing young foreign talent before sending them on their path to Premier League stardom in England, the prospect of playing at Parkhead would surely be an enticing one for the young American.
And considering Philadelphia were knocked out of the MLS is Back tournament by Portland Timbers at the semi-final stage, the time to discuss a transfer for the centre-back should be now.
In other news, we discuss the new rule change to Scottish football that Neil Lennon needs to use more wisely.
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