Celtic will need to sign another new left-back this summer.
Kieran Tierney signed a pre-contract arrangement earlier in the year and has now been confirmed as Celtic’s first signing of the transfer window.
The former Arsenal man signed a five-year deal to re-join the Hoops and admitted he felt “amazing” wearing the famous green and white hoops once again.
Greg Taylor will leave Celtic at the end of his contract and it appears PAOK is his destination, despite the conflicting reports over the last couple of days.
It means Brendan Rodgers needs someone else in that position to compete with Tierney, with Sassuolo’s Josh Doig on Celtic’s radar at the moment.
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Celtic want to sign Sassuolo’s Josh Doig
67 Hail Hail and our resident transfer expert Graeme Bailey understand that Celtic want to bring Josh Doig back to Scotland this summer.
The Hoops are looking to beat a host of other clubs interested in the left-back’s signature, and we understand Doig is keen to play under Brendan Rodgers.
Doig currently plays for newly-promoted Serie A side Sassuolo having moved there in January 2024 from Hellas Verona, making 47 appearances for the club so far with four goal contributions.
The 23-year-old was a regular for Sassuolo last season as they won the Serie B title to clinch a place in Serie A next campaign.
And his success has continued having made his senior Scotland debut in the 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein on Monday evening.
Doig is contracted at Sassuolo until June 2028, so Celtic will need to dig deep into their pockets to land the former Hibs starlet this summer.
Josh Doig’s career in focus
Doig started his youth career in the Hearts academy before moving to the Hibs set-up in the summer of 2019.
After a loan move to Queen’s Park, Doig managed to become a regular in the Hibs first-team during the 2020/21 campaign.
Celtic were linked with signing Doig in January 2021, but the youngster remained at Easter Road and went on to sign a new contract until 2025.
He won the SFWA Young Player of the Year award at the end of his breakthrough season and was sold to Hellas Verona a year later for £3m after 78 games played for the Hibees.
The former Scotland U21 star signed a four-year contract and excelled in his debut season, scoring two goals and notching four assists.
He missed some games at the start of the 2023/24 season through injury, before making a €6m switch to Sassuolo in the January after a move to Marseille was blocked by Verona.
Sassuolo were relegated that season to Serie B, but as mentioned, Doig helped them bounce back at the first time of asking by winning the second tier title.
Doig spoke to 67 Hail Hail about Celtic speculation
In November last year, 67 Hail Hail sat down with Doig to discuss Celtic’s reported interest in the left-back after Sassuolo had been relegated to Serie B.
Doig admitted he was ‘flattered’ that the Hoops were linked with him, but stressed he did not hear anything concrete from his agent.
Doig told us exclusively: “I didn’t hear anything, to be fair. Maybe my agent (did) but I’ve not heard anything. He doesn’t tell me anything. I keep away from all that.
“Because of my first transfer window I let it get to my head. I was 18 and was thinking, ‘My God, this is amazing’.
“Was (Celtic speculation) flattering? 100 percent. They’re massive teams. Growing up, Celtic or Rangers it’s the two biggest teams you could play for in Scotland.
“But for me, I feel like I’ve just got out of Scotland. I feel like I’m just newly away from all that.
“So even if I went back there, I’d be back in my house, be back with mum and dad. I’ve just got out and I’m broadening my horizons.
“Obviously I’m not saying that going to Rangers or Celtic would be a bad thing, but it’s just like I’ve got away from it. I just want to experience different places and I feel like football lets you do that.”
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