Gustaf Lagerbielke is finding his feet after leaving Celtic on loan – and the Hoops could be set to turn a tidy profit on him just like they did with Alexandro Bernabei.
The big Swede joined the Hoops from Elfsborg in the summer of 2023 but has been collateral damage of a defensive transformation since then with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales and Maik Nawrocki among those ahead of him in the pecking order. Lagerbielke was loaned out to Twente in the summer and, with homegrown star Dane Murray recently throwing his name into the hat, Lagerbielke’s long-term prospects at Parkhead look slim.
But where one door closes, another door opens, and the 24-year-old has made a name for himself in the Netherlands. Despite a slow start that saw him bide his time to break into the team, he’s one of the first names on the teamsheet now, and scored his second goal for them in the 3-3 draw with Heerenveen at the weekend.
It was a performance lauded by the Dutch media, rated 7/10 by Voetbal International while TV reporter Timen van Wissing said he was ‘very good.’ The stars seem to be aligning for a summer move for the Swede – he’s a good age at 24 and, with three years left on his contract after this season, Celtic are in a good position to turn a modest profit on the £4m they paid for him in 2023.
In many ways it mirrors the explosion that earned Bernabei his permanent move to Brazilian side Internacional – a slow start, followed by an impressive run of form to find his feet, resulting in a transfer scramble that saw him leave for more than Celtic paid for him. And it’s a blueprint the Hoops will hope can pay off again after he struggled to cut it as a Celtic player.