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Celtic Hoping for More Success in the European Market This Summer

Discussion in 'News' started by TC News, May 14, 2020.

Discuss Celtic Hoping for More Success in the European Market This Summer in the News area at TalkCeltic.net.

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    Celtic Hoping for More Success in the European Market This Summer


    In recent seasons, Celtic's transfer policy has been to buy low and sell high, and that strategy looks set to continue this summer with the club reportedly keeping tabs on a number ofpotential stars from across Europe. Although many of the Bhoys' recent acquisitions are yet to repay their transfer fee, supporters remain hopeful that Neil Lennon can unlock the potential of January arrival Patryk Klimala.

    The Pole arrived for a reported fee of £3.5 million, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal at Parkhead, and despite telling the media that he was keen to prove himself at 'a huge club', he has fallen down the pecking order, largely due to OdsonneEdouard's upturn in form. He had previously impressed in the Polish Ekstraklasa, and the club have once again cast their eye towards Europe with a number of players including Martin Minchev and Michal Karbownik being linked with a move to Scotland.



    The club have a highly professional scouting network with members of the recruitment team making numerous trips across Europe in order to keep an eye on some of the continent's hottest prospects. With the hugely experienced Gary Penrice recently taking up the role of head of recruitment, and his former teammate Nick Hammond being installed as head of football operations, Celtic's future looks to be in extremely safe hands. Penrice recently told SunSportthat the Hoops are looking at 240 players around the world, and that could potentially pave the way for an influx of exciting recruits ahead of the 2020-2021 campaign.

    Despite enjoying plenty of success in the Scottish Premiershipover the last decade which has continued this season, they now have serious competition from city rivals Rangers, and the club must ensure that they continue to move forward. Although every single signing is unlikely to hit the ground running, their modus operandi will surely be to assemble a large enough squad to remain competitive in both the top flight and the Champions League over the next five years.

    Martin Minchev is the latest name to be linked with a move to Glasgow, and despite being just 19-years-old, he already has four international caps to his name. He's made 74 first-team appearances for Cherno More and recently helped fire the Varna-based club into the Bulgarian First League play-offs. Despite being one of the youngest players to feature in the European Championship qualifiers last year, and alsobeing linked with a move to Torino, many Celtic fans will still be unfamiliar with the youngster's domestic exploits.

    He may have scored six times in the efBet Liga last season, however the Bulgarian top flight is rarely on the radar of Scottish football supporters and bettors. Although UK bookmakers offer multiple markets on leagues from across the world and have betting in-play markets on all European top flights, the majority of punters tend to stick to the action in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Those who prefer to dig a little deeper may choose to focus on the Russian Premier League, Belgian Jupiler League or even the Turkish Super Lig, with the Bulgarian First League often missing out completely. Football may dominate the UK betting landscape, however, Martin Minchev's Cherno More rarely feature in weekend accumulators and Hoops supporters may be restricted to watching Youtube compilations for the time being.



    The striker's best attributes are his blistering pace and towering strength, and although many critics believe that his decision-making needs to significantly improve, he has undoubtedly grown in confidence since making his debut two seasons ago. He received a standing ovation against both CSKA Sofia and Ludogorets and does have the tendency to turn up for the more high-profile encounters.

    Defender Michal Karbownik has also been linked with a move to the Scottish Premiership, and the club have sent scouts to Poland to monitor the left-back on numerous occasions. Rising Lille star Fadiga Ouattara has also been touted as a potential summer arrival and the highly-ratedversatile striker ticks all of the boxes. He looks to be a typical Celtic signing and is likely to enjoy linking up with fellow countryman Odsonne Edouard. The club have enjoyed plenty of success with French players in recent years, with Moussa Dembele being the most high profile example.

    Although Gary Penrice and his team are predominantly eyeing up European talent this summer, they aren't ruling out a raid on the Premier League with Chelsea youngster Mohamed Sankoh just one of the players linked with a move to the east end of Glasgow.

    Not all of Celtic's January signings have lived up to their expectations just yet; however, the majority of the club's recent signings have arrived with bags of potential. The recruitment team will look to follow a similar blueprint this year and will once again turn their attention to Europe in order to unearth players who should be able to acclimatise to the Scottish top flight as well as offering bags of potential sell-on value.