Swedish report: Celtic sent scout to watch Hammarby vs Malmo on Monday

By David Walton

May 4, 2022

Celtic sent a representative to take in Hammarby vs Malmo on Monday night in the Allsvenskan, according to Swedish outlet Expressen.

The report states that this was in order to watch Hammarby star Mohanad Jeahze, who they were first linked with last week. The left-back featured for 68 minutes of the 0-0 draw before coming off.

Expressen reported last week that the Hoops could be able to bag the Iraq international this summer for as little as £1.6m. That was despite the Scottish Sun claiming that we were looking at a £2m move for the player.

Jeahze has already spoken about the Celtic links too. He simply stated that if he was to leave Hammarby then it would have to be for a better opportunity. Celtic would certainly represent that [Scottish Sun].

The Hoops are in need of an upgrade at left-back ahead of their likely UCL campaign next season. Jeahze has yet to experience European football proper.

As of yet, there have been no reports of any early offers having been put in for the player. But Celtic having representatives in attendance on Monday night says plenty about the validity of their interest.

Celtic taking a serious look at Mohanad Jeahze after last week’s speculation

So it looks as though Jeahze really is on a list of candidates we’re taking a look at ahead of the summer. It’s a real sign of Celtic’s intention to strengthen in the left-back area first and foremost.

The Hoops only really have Greg Taylor available as a plausible first-team option. Liam Scales has struggled to assert his authority in the first-team whilst Boli Bolingoli clearly isn’t fancied. In addition to that Josip Juranovic can play on the left, but is clearly preferred down the other flank.

Whether Jeahze would be a proper upgrade on the options we have would remain to be seen. But it’s clear we need another high-quality first-choice similar to that of Juranovic on the right flank.

With a bit of luck, this also shows Celtic’s desire to try and get their business done early. We saw how beneficial that was back in January when we brought 4 new first-team players to the club and it didn’t interrupt our flow. If anything, it spurred us on.

We would hope for a similar reaction should we do our business this summer. Especially considering we don’t have UCL qualifiers to worry about should we win the league.

We’ll keep you updated on this one, but it sounds as though Jeahze is very much a live option.

In other news, John Hartson outlines Celtic boss’ £16.3m transfer priority