Celtic look set to miss out on another one of their midfield targets to Sporting Club de Portugal.
Silas Andersen, the 6 ft 3 midfielder who plays for Swedish side BK Hacken, was reportedly watched by Celtic scouts in person in April.
Rangers and Copenhagen were among the clubs to send bids for Andersen in the January transfer window, but his club scared suitors off with a reported €10 million asking price.
Hacken now look to have pretty much secured what they want, with the Lisbon club closing in on a deal for the 21-year-old.
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Silas Andersen close to €10 million move to Sporting CP
According to well-regarded Danish journalist Farzam Abolhosseini, Andersen is close to agreeing a move to Portugal.
The move is reportedly worth €7 million and €3 million in add-ons, with a contract running until 2031.
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Issa Doumbia, another Celtic-linked midfielder, also agreed a move to the Portuguese side this week.
Hacken are just getting underway in their season, with the Swedish league operating an April-December schedule.
He operates as both a defensive number six and a box-to-box number eight for the Swedish side, starting every game for which he has been available this season.
Following a two-year tenure at Inter Milan and time with Utrecht’s reserve team, the midfielder has adapted to senior football at Hacken, becoming a strong ball-carrier and earning a place in Denmark’s under-21 squad.
He would offer a much-needed physical presence in the Hoops’ midfield, but they are to win the race for him, they’ll have to push hard.
Paulo Bernardo looks set to leave Celtic this summer, whilst Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s short-term contract is yet to be extended.
There is also likely to be interest in both Arne Engels and Benjamin Nygren, with Reo Hatate also looking like leaving after being bombed out of the squad by Martin O’Neill.
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Martin O’Neill on his Celtic future and ‘project’
Speaking to the media on his future after Celtic completed the double, O’Neill said: “I don’t think I’ll lose the passion for the game. Honestly, I really don’t.
“But I would be thinking that the football club to go forward, to go forward properly, would probably be looking at somebody younger.
“If you’re asking me, would you have a project or something that gets here? No, I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t have it.
“I’ve never believed in a project anyway, to tell you the truth. But I definitely couldn’t do that.”
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