Journalist Pete O’Rourke has revealed that Celtic could still look to sign Manchester City’s 25-year-old defender Ko Itakura in the summer transfer window, despite missing out on the signing previously.
Celtic enjoyed a resurgent season under Australian manager Ange Postecoglou as the Hoops won their 52nd Scottish Premier League title, taking the bragging rights away from their bitter rivals Rangers while securing Champions League football in the process.
A huge factor in the team’s success has been the transfers made by Postecoglou in the previous transfer windows which saw players like Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, and Joe Hart, among others, come into the side. This rebuild through transfers does not look like slowing down with new rumours linking the Glasgow team to Manchester City’s Itakua.
According to O’Rourke, they could look to sign the Japanese defender after his former team Schalke is not able to cough up the funds for him., while it has been reported that Itakura would be happy to sign with the Scottish champions.
He told GiveMeSport, “They were linked last summer with him, but he ended up going to Schalke and had a very good season, but they will not be signing him on a permanent basis due to financial reasons, so that maybe opens the door for Celtic to try and sign him this year.
“I think Celtic now, with Champions League football next season, will need to improve the squad, and centre-back is an area which Ange Postecoglou will be looking to strengthen in as well.”
TIF Thoughts on Celtic signing Itakura…
Bringing in a new defender will be a top target for them this summer as Carter-Vickers rejoined Tottenham Hotspur, but they could sign him before the end of the window, and Christopher Jullien has stated his frustrations with the club and is considering a move away from Bhoys.
Should Celtic sign Itakura?Yes
No
|
Itakura, who is valued at £3.15 million (as per Transfermarkt), could be a great replacement for either of these players as he proved to be a threat in the opposition box with four goals as well as being a stable body at the back by averaging 1.4 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, three clearances, 0.5 blocks, 1.9 aerial duels won, and 2.7 long balls with 86.8% passing accuracy on 48.6 attempts per game. (Whoscored)
Partnering the 25-year-old with Carter-Vickers for next season could be a great partnership for Celtic next season, both stand over six feet tall and are young so have their best year ahead of them if they are given time to develop further.