Celtic fans won’t be happy to see Kyogo go – but if they’re getting Jota, Kieran Tierney AND a new striker in his place, there won’t be many complaints.
And it looks like that’s what’s happening, with impatient Rennes ramping up talks over Kyogo and Jota over the last few hours. After the story first broke last night, L’Equipe reported this afternoon that a £10m deal had been agreed between the two clubs for Kyogo. And their manager Jorge Sampaoli has since confirmed the open secret as he personally pushes to get a deal for the 30-year-old over the line with the Hoops hero in line for a debut against Monaco THIS WEEKEND.
Raking in £10m looks decent business however you slice it and it will put Celtic in a strong position to ramp up their own signing drive. Once Rennes have that deal rubber-stamped, which they hope to have done in time to play him against Monaco THIS weekend, they are likely to green light a return to Parkhead for Jota, with the clubs in talks over an initial loan.
On Jota, the Rennes boss already considers him gone as he said: “With the departures of Jota and others, we are considering the arrival of a winger, who would bring us more variance in our game.
And speaking on Kyogo, he added: “We hope first of all that the operation will come to fruition. If that is the case, he could perhaps play a few minutes against Monaco. We expect a lot from him because he is a player who can help us a lot, and in particular bring us depth.”
Sky Sports also reported today that Kieran Tierney is ‘on the verge’ of a return to Parkhead on a pre-contract agreement. If it can be signed off in time then we understand it is Celtic’s intention to push for a deal to bring him in now, likely on loan with the Hoops covering a portion of his wages for the remaining six months on his deal.
And if all that wasn’t good news enough, it does appear that Kyogo’s exit will spark a hunt for a new striker with Brendan Rodgers keen on another No.9 to compete with Adam Idah – and it already appears there are two options on the table. The Scottish Sun put Mathias Kvistgaarden firmly back in that frame today but Record Sport understand Brondby are holding out for a £13m fee, with Eintracht Frankfurt also sniffing around.
That would require a club record outlay from Celtic and while that is by no means impossible, they may wait until the summer before spending that type of fee. A cheaper option for now could be Brighton’s Irish frontman Evan Ferguson, who has long been linked. And their boss Fabian Hurzeler today suggested he could be available having struggled to break into his side.
“Let’s see what happens in the end,” Hurzeler said. “In the offensive line, there’s still some players not at the highest level, some players suffering with small issues. Evan is also not fit yet so we still have some days til the window is closed. Until then, we still have to figure out what is the situation at the moment, what we need for the rest of the season, and what the players want. Then it’s about making the decision together.”