As Celtic’s need to replace Joe Hart seems ever urgent after his mistake against Motherwell yesterday, the fans will be wondering who Brendan Rodgers may have his eye on.
The Celtic manager has pressed home the need to bring in quality this January and it seems he has set his sights high as the Daily Record reports that Rodgers is considering a move for Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin.
The report says, “Real Madrid’s backup keeper Andriy Lunin might just be available in January despite a recent run in the team.
“The Ukrainian shotstopper has been on the bench for much of the season but stepped into the breach for their last three games with starting keeper Kepa injured.
“Record Sport understands he’s one of the keepers under consideration at Celtic and while his recent prominence at Real might suggest he’ll be a tricky man to land, Carlo Ancelotti dropped a hint that his stint in the team is coming to an end this weekend.”
Andriy Lunin linked to Celtic again as Joe Hart’s replacement
Indeed, this is not the first time Lunin has been linked with a move to Celtic. TBR Celtic told in October how the Ukrainian international became of interest to the Hoops.
However, it seemed that a move for Lunin was out of the question after it was reported that the 24-year-old would be offered to Chelsea as Real Madrid looked to sign the Premier League side’s, Kepa Arrizabalaga on a permanent deal.
That seems to have all gone quiet now that Lunin has managed to force his way into Madrid’s first team recently.
MORE CELTIC STORIES
Brought in from the cold, Lunin has now started Galactico’s last two La Liga matches and it seems he has performed well in the 3-0 away win over Cadiz and the 5-1 home win against Valencia.
What Andriy Lunin said about his future as Celtic links continue
Lunin has made it known that he was unhappy with his lack of playing time. Ever since his £12m move to Madrid in 2018, he has only featured 22 times for the club. [Transfermarkt]
Lunin said [Madrid Xtra], “At the end of last season I was thinking about it [leaving Real Madrid]. It’s normal when you don’t play.
“But Real Madrid has always been a dream since I was young, you don’t really want to leave.
“But you always want to play, you train to play, you want to feel the emotions of the games… we will see, now I’m focused on training.
“There were offers from other clubs but I didn’t talk to them, there was nothing serious.”
With Joe Hart’s contract running down, and the fact that he turns 37 next year, Celtic do need to look at a long-term replacement for the Englishman.
Is Lunin the man to come in and do that? With the ‘keeper on a reported £57k per week [SalarySport] and his contract expiring next summer, a deal may not be totally out of the question if Celtic pushed the boat out to land him.
This is certainly one worth keeping a close eye on. Especially with the spotlight fixed on Hart and the upcoming Champions League fixture against Lazio looming tomorrow night.
In other news, ‘It’s poor’… Tom English shares what he’s seen from Celtic that’s ‘weird’ this season