Celtic have made an approach for Bournemouth striker Lys Mousset, according to Football Insider.
The 23-year-old is out of contract in 2020 and only made one start for Eddie Howe’s side last season.
Four of his five starts came in the cup although he did make 28 appearances across all competitions.
He’s way back in the pecking order on the south coast, with Callum Wilson, Josh King and Dominic Solanke all ahead of him.
That’s got the attention of Celtic who are said to have “sounded out third parties about a deal for the former France Under-21 international this summer”.
It was reported previously by the Mail that Bournemouth value him at £10million but that Celtic wouldn’t pay that much unless a players plus cash deal could be sorted out.
Mousset is reportedly on £20k-a-week at Bournemouth.
Good move for Celtic?
Mousset is right on the fringes of the Bournemouth side, making plenty of appearances from the bench without troubling the first-team from the start. However, he’s obviously rated higher than Jermain Defoe, who was let out on loan by Howe in January. He’s been doing a great job at Rangers on loan and is there for at least another 12 months. Signing Mousset would seem to be a good idea based purely on that but the finances would have to work for Celtic.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
£10million is a lot of money for Celtic, probably too much, which is why the Mail report was talking about a players-plus-cash deal. Celtic only paid their record fee of £9m for Odsonne Edouard last summer and it’s unlikely they’re going to break that again this summer, with more than just one body needed in. However, we can’t see where a players-plus-cash deal would work – who would Bournemouth want that Celtic don’t? It would be a great buy but finances might well stop this one.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10