Exit route reported for Celtic midfielder Ismaila Soro

By David Walton

June 5, 2022

Neil Lennon wants to bring out-of-favour Celtic midfielder Ismaila Soro with him to Omonia Nicosia, according to Cypriot outlet Super Sport FM.

The report states that Lennon is keeping his eye on any players who aren’t part of Ange Postecoglou’s plans at Celtic Park. One of these clearly being Soro after a dismal 2021/22 campaign for the Ivorian.

Ismaila was signed by the Hoops whilst Lennon was in charge back in January 2020. However, he’s struggled to get much in the way of an opportunity under Ange Postecoglou this season. Indeed, the midfielder only started on 18 occasions last term with barely any squad appearances in the second half of the campaign [Transfermarkt].

Celtic did try to shift Soro on back in January with Dutch outfit Fortuna Sittard said to have been keen on him. However, Ange stated that the move fell through due to a lack of a work permit [The Scotsman].

Since then, it’s been a constant struggle for Soro to assert himself in the Celtic first team. It remains to be seen what level of interest comes from elsewhere this summer.

The Hoops secured Soro for £2m, and it was claimed back in January that Celtic were looking to recoup that fee [Sky Sports].

Ismaila Soro has next to no future at Celtic Park

It can and no doubt will be debated by supporters as to whether he could still have a role to play if given an opportunity at Celtic next season. But it’s clear that Ange simply isn’t a fan of the player.

You have to look at reason here and think of the number of midfielders actually ahead of the Ivorian in the pecking order at the moment. Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi, and David Turnbull will all be vying for minutes next season. A renaissance for Soro looks almost impossible at this rate.

Of course, at the same time, Celtic have to be realistic and think about whether they’ll be able to recoup their money. Given his lack of impact here since his arrival from Bnei Yehuda, we have to be prepared to make a loss here.

Getting rid of the deadwood is going to be the club’s biggest challenge this summer. If we can get some interest in the likes of Soro, Albian Ajeti, and Vasilis Barkas to name a few – that has to be a success on its own.

We’ll see whether Lennon is the one to take Ismaila away from Glasgow this summer. But anything other than a departure – whether temporary or permanent – looks fanciful to say the least.

All eyes on where this one goes from here.

In other news, The 2021 Celtic-linked players who are free agents this summer