Celtic found out who they will play in the Champions League play-off round this week.
It’s either Slovan Bratislava or Kairat Almaty for the Hoops standing in the way of qualification for the league phase of UEFA’s premier competition.
The rest of the Scottish Premiership clubs competing in European qualifiers this month also discovered their next opponents, including Dundee United.
The Arabs will face Rapid Wien in the Europa Conference League third qualifying round this week. And on the eve of the first leg, Rapid’s sporting director has confirmed they are interested in signing a Celtic player.
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Rapid Wien sporting director confirms Marco Tilio interest
It’s no real surprise that the player in question is Aussie outcast Marco Tilio. Celtic want to offload him this summer, but will only sanction an exit when they can guarantee the signing of a new winger.
It has been reported that Rapid Wien and Celtic have agreed a loan deal for Tilio, which also includes the obligation to buy him next year.
A waiting game is now underway as the Hoops scour the transfer market before they allow Tilio to leave the club – an embarrassing state of affairs.
Meanwhile, the Daily Record have spoken to Rapid Wien’s sporting director Markus Katzer. And he has confirmed his club are keen on recruiting Tilio.
Katzer revealed: “There is interest. We’re monitoring the interest. We had interest in him before then Celtic signed him.
“But we’re looking at players in his position and we’re certainly interested in him but that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal.”
How much could Celtic receive for Tilio?
Tilio will initially move on a loan deal if Celtic eventually sanction his proposed switch to Rapid Wien this month.
That will be until the end of the season and it is being reported that the loan fee will be around £350k, which is decent business.
The obligation to buy clause will be worth £1.3m, meaning Celtic could bring in a total of £1.65m come the summer of 2026 for Tilio.
That all depends on the number of appearances he makes for Rapid Wien, if indeed the deal goes through.
Celtic paid £1.5m for Tilio in 2023, so a profit of £150k could be secured.
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