Celtic could hijack Anderlecht’s bid to sign Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper claim the Scottish giants are in hot pursuit of the centre-back after he slipped down the pecking order at St James’ Park.
The Chronicle report Newcastle are willing to sell Mbemba at a loss after Belgian outlet HLN reported that the 23-year-old has agreed a long-term contracts with Anderlecht and should finalise a move in the next week.
OPINION
For a player whose career has virtually ground to a halt in the last year, Mbemba appears to have the pick of some pretty tasty clubs. Anderlecht are the biggest club in Belgium and regulars in the Champions League and/or Europa League, while Celtic have been transformed under Brendan Rodgers in the past two years. The Glasgow club are certainly in need of a top-ranking centre-back, the position which is probably the main priority for Rodgers in this summer’s window. Is Mbemba the answer? Rafael Benitez demoted him to fourth in the pecking order in 2017-18 behind Jamaal Lascelles, Florian Lejeune and Ciaran Clark, and he does not appear to have improved much since his encouraging debut campaign. Yet, he is still only 23, has already racked up 42 international caps and has the qualities that could make him a big hit in Scotland. Rodgers also has an excellent record of developing and improving players. The deal makes sense.
