Heerenveen CEO, Ferry de Haan, has shared how close his club are to signing Gustaf Lagerbielke before the transfer window closes next month.
We discussed yesterday how Lagerbielke had held talks with Celtic about a possible loan move out of the club with the Eredivisie side and Belgium’s KV Mechelen both reported to be interested in securing his signature.
Lagerbielke has been frozen out for much of his Celtic career after making his £3m move from Elfsborg last summer and has made just ten appearances in the Hoops.
Hereenveen ‘hopeful’ of completing Celtic deal
With interest in the Swedish defender high, the Dutch club CEO seems that he is quietly confident after being asked about a possible deal being struck with Celtic.
De Haan told Leeuwarder Courant, “It is not a done deal yet, but we are hopeful that it will work out.
“With Pawel Bochniewicz and Sam Kersten, we now have two central defenders.
“Mateja Milovanovic is still behind them but needs some time. We want to have a good line-up in the centre of defence.”
Why Hereenveen want Celtic defender
Hereenveen had a tough season in the Dutch flight last year finishing in 11th place, eight points behind the European play-off places and just eight points above the relegation zone.
The Dutch side also conceded 70 goals last season which is 17 more than they scored so it is clear that they have defensive deficiencies they need to address.
Clearly, Hereenveen has earmarked Lagerbielke as one who can improve their defensive fortunes despite his lack of minutes for Celtic.
His international experience and the fact that he is a former Swedish Defender of the Year proves that Lagerbielke has the quality but does now need to get first-team football to show it.
Unfortunately, it looks like that won’t happen at Celtic and a move away from Paradise now looks like it may well be on the cards.
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