Premier League side Burnley are lining up a £1million move for Celtic’s Israeli versatile player Nir Bitton, says the Scottish Sun.
The outlet claims that Sean Dyche’s men want to make additions to their squad in the upcoming January transfer window, but Neil Lennon isn’t too interested in letting the 28-year-old go.
The Clarets have been left impressed by the Israel international’s performances for club and country and feel that his versatility could give them much-needed depth in midfield and at the back.
Utility man important squad member
Bitton has played six times in the Scottish Premiership for the Hoops this season but is yet to score or assist for the club. He has also played twice in the UEFA Europa League but has seen only 14 minutes of action in the competition.
While the Israel international is originally a central defender, he has regularly had a hand in playing in the defensive-midfield position too.
He arrived at the club from FC Ashdod in the summer of 2013 for a fee of £700,000 and a 20% sell-on clause. Since then, he has played 196 times in all competitions for Celtic. He has scored 12 times and has racked up a tally of 14 assists during this time.
TIF Tactics
Bitton is hardly a regular member of the squad and the knee injury he faced last year hasn’t improved too many things in Glasgow for him. Because of that, he saw his first-team spot get taken away from him last season and that is still the case this term.
Last season, he played just six times in the league – as much as he has at this point this season.
But a lot has changed since he used to play regularly. Indeed, with Burnley in need of defensive cover and midfield cover, Bitton might get more football than he might in Glasgow. Dyche has Ashley Westwood and Jack Cork as his options in deeper midfield, but Bitton has an immense amount of experience of winning trophies.
While James Tarkowski and Ben Mee are the Clarets’ first-choice centre-back pairing, Bitton could easily be their cover when the games start to come thick and fast around December.
However, whether Celtic would be prepared to allow Bitton to leave Celtic Park for a transfer of just £1m remains to be seen, as he could be argued to be worth a lot more than that to the Bhoys as the season progresses.