After Celtic were linked with Mat Ryan, his club Brighton have made it a summer priority to get players off their wage bill, according to the Argus.
The Brighton-based newspaper has claimed that clearing the wage bill of players not featuring for Graham Potter’s side is a top priority in the coming weeks.
Celtic were linked with a move for Ryan over the weekend. It was said by Sky Sports that new manager Ange Postecoglou was assessing the club’s goalkeeping options and had identified the Australian international as a target.
Sky also believe that Ryan wants consistent game-time for his next move as he weighs up his options. This comes two weeks after Ryan outlined his hope that Arsenal would come back in for him.
And it looks as though Brighton could be as keen to do a deal for their stopper as anyone.
Brighton looking to get reported Celtic target Mat Ryan off the wage bill
When it comes to players who don’t feature for the Seagulls, Ryan certainly fits the bill. After making 11 appearances for Brighton last season, he lost his place to Robert Sanchez. There’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.
It’s unlikely to cost Celtic much either. Ryan’s contract is up in the summer of 2022, so there’s an opportunity there for the Hoops to sign him up on a cut-price deal.
There shouldn’t need to be much convincing over whether this would be a good move for us either. He’s an experienced goalkeeper and a top shot-stopper. He has over 120 Premier League games to his name and has played in England, Spain, Belgium, and Australia. Not to mention the fact he’s been capped 58 times for his country [Transfermarkt].
So all parties will likely be willing to strike a deal. And that should give Celtic motivation enough to move quickly here and bring a top shot-stopper in.
As things stand, we’re heading into the UEFA Champions League qualifiers with Vasilis Barkas, Scott Bain, and Conor Hazard as our last line of defence. Celtic need better if they want to qualify for UEFA’s top competition.
So hopefully we see some movement on this in the coming weeks. With Brighton also looking to move players on quickly, there should be scope to get a quick deal done here.
In other news, Neil Lennon has delivered his verdict on Ange Postecoglou.
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