Celtic’s transfer interest in Quentin Merlin is one of the most promising rumours of the summer window, with the young Frenchman already attracting plenty of buzz long before his link to the Bhoys.
The Scottish Daily Mail reported this morning that Celtic have had him scouted on multiple occasions and that FC Nantes have been made aware of strong interest in a potential £7m deal.
The left-back has represented France at every youth international age group from U16 to U21 level, so has consistently been marked out as one of the top young talents in his country. And we know French football fans love to get excited about emerging players.
Despite his young age, at 21, Merlin has already racked up plenty of appearances in one of the continent’s top leagues, featuring 64 times for Nantes to date. Having emerged from their academy, he’s a firm fixture on the left flank and played 90 minutes of their opening league match against Toulouse on Sunday.
And the hype around him goes beyond Nantes, with the player included on UEFA’ 2023 ‘players to watch out for’ list, published in January. UEFA drew on its network of reporters, correspondents and editors from across the continent to predict which players have the potential to take European football by storm and Merlin was involved.
They said [UEFA.com]: “Merlin was a mainstay in the Nantes team that went all the way in the Coupe de France last season. Capable of playing anywhere down the left side of the pitch, his set-piece and crossing ability make him a major asset going forward.”
Also on the 2023 list were Celtic star Liel Abada, recent mega-money Chelsea arrival Moises Caicedo and Newcastle talent Anthony Gordon, amongst others.
Merlin is in good company then and a switch to the Bhoys, vying for more trophies and featuring in the UEFA Champions League, could take his profile to a new level.
Without any disrespect to Nantes, Celtic is an increasingly notable destination for top young talents to pass through and if the reported £7m transfer goes through then he’ll get a brand new platform on which to shine.
Nothing is guaranteed yet and the Scottish champions are yet to even make a bid but we’ll all be watching this situation unfold very closely.
In other news, What Brendan Rodgers has said to Matt O’Riley about taking his Celtic game to next level.
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