Celtic’s January transfer window is now less than a week away.
Wilfried Nancy has a few games to deal with before then, but it appears that things are gathering pace behind the scenes.
He needs a fair few signings if he is to get the Celtic team in his image. The Hoops need a fair bit of help in both attack and defence.
And with Johnny Kenny’s recent performances bemoaned by many, it looks like the club are biting the bullet on a new striker.
That’s in the form of 20-goal striker Ibrahim Diabate, who plays for GAIS in Sweden.
Tell us about any Celtic-related gifts you got this Christmas
Celtic ‘lead race’ for Ivorian striker
A product of the highly-rated ASEC Mimosas academy in Ivory Coast, Diabate moved to Spain in 2018.
His career really took off when he moved to Sweden two years ago, initially playing in the second tier before joining the Gothenburg-based GAIS.
READ MORE: Tony Cascarino compares his Celtic move to Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool
Joining the club at the start of the year, Diabate went on to have the best goalscoring season of his career, scoring 19 for the team who finished third in the table.
Aged 26, he isn’t as young as many of the players that Celtic target nowadays.
He is reportedly valued at around £3 million by his club, and was linked with a move to Al-Ahly in Egypt this week.
But speaking about the rumours, he didn’t seem too keen on that particular move.
He said: “These are just rumours. Nothing is clear about any transfer and there have been no discussions.
“Very little of what has been said about me signing for Al-Ahly is true.”
The Scottish Sun are now reporting that Celtic are ‘leading the race’ for Diabate, and with the Swedish season over, the deal doesn’t have the typical hurdles you see in the winter window.
Diabate, who is 6ft 1, has never received a call-up from the Ivorian national team.
But very soon, he could be getting the call from Nancy to finally give Celtic a reliable striker.
Tell us your score predictions for Livingston vs Celtic
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
