Celtic look to have been onto a winner with Flavius Daniliuc…
But in a tale as old as time, Celtic were beaten in the race to sign the defender, and he has gone from strength to strength since.
In the midst of EURO 2024, where he was playing for Austria, Celtic reportedly emerged with concrete interest for the defender, who was on loan at Salernitana from Red Bull Salzburg at the time.
The signings of Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke the previous summer hadn’t worked out, creating a necessity for Brendan Rodgers to head into the market again.
Who is that one player Celtic never signed that they should have gone all out for?
Flavius Daniliuc enjoys Basel breakout season after Celtic interest
A former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich youth player, Daniliuc had to drop out of Serie A to join FC Basel in Switzerland ahead of this season.
The decision has worked wonders, with Rudy Galetti now reporting that he is expected to move to the top-flight in Germany or Italy this summer.
READ MORE: Jens Berthel Askou emerges as Toulouse frontrunner as Celtic ‘consider’ rival bid
A right-footed central defender, he is almost equally capable on his left. He has played in a more suitable role with the Swiss side this season.
Whilst in Italy, he was often used as a right-back, or as a right-sided defender in a back three. This campaign, however, he has been a left-sided centre-back in a back four.
Liam Scales recently extended his Celtic contract, having been a mainstay in the Hoops’ defence in recent seasons. He has mostly been partnered by Auston Trusty this season due to an injury to Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Dane Murray’s game time has dried up after his spell in the side during March and April, whilst Benjamin Arthur’s loan move looks unlikely to be made permanent.
Among the centre-backs linked with Celtic in recent weeks have been Scott McKenna, Luke Graham and Oskar Wojcik.
Despite the lack of certainty over who the next Parkhead boss will be, preparation for recruitment next season is already underway.
How does this rumour sound to you?
Martin O’Neill on mammoth Celtic rebuild
Discussing the upcoming rebuild last week, Martin O’Neill said: “We will have to try and act relatively quickly on players.
“On the larger picture, yeah, I’m looking at this minute at players, but it is strange, because I’m more focused on the matches here.
“So, if you’ve got a spare hour, the scouts are in there, they’re looking at a lot of things, which they should be doing anyway.
“This is the point. Let’s say somebody steps in during the first week of June or something, then [the scouts] should be able to put a lot of this forward to him and say, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is the general consensus that these players are really good’.
“And then it’s up to him to have a look at these players and see.”
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