Celtic have been warned that they could miss out on the potential capture of Slovan Bratislava striker Andraz Sporar.
The Daily Mail claimed last month that the Hoops had been scouting the 25-year-old with an eye to a potential transfer bid, although a report by the Daily Record claimed on Tuesday that they have dithered while other clubs have submitted offers for the £5m-rated Slovenia international.
The Daily Record quoted Slovan Bratislava director Ivan Kmotrik as saying: “On December 23, there was a meeting between SK Slovan Bratislava and Celtic in the presence of Sporar’s agent. We discussed with Celtic the possibilities for a potential transfer.
“Celtic responded that they would send an official proposal. However, they didn’t make any more calls and didn’t send any proposal after our meeting. We are a little bit surprised and we don’t know now what is the situation with Celtic’s interest in Sporar.
“In the meantime, we have received offers from several clubs. We have an offer from Sporting Lisbon and now Al-Gharafa, a club from Qatar.”
Celtic’s interest in Sporar has likely been sparked by his magnificent form for Slovan Bratislava this season, with 20 goals in 26 appearances (0.77 goals per game).
He has netted 12 times in just 11 league appearances and also found the net five times in six Europa League group games for the Slovakian outfit. By comparison, Ryan Christie was Celtic’s top scorer in the Europa League group stage with three goals.
The Hoops boast a decent spread of goals throughout their squad, with three players into double figures with their goal tallies this season and seven players with five goals or more. However, there is only one centre-forward among those seven names, with Odsonne Edouard netting 16 times already this term. [via TransferMarkt]
Behind him, Leigh Griffiths is Celtic’s next most prolific centre-forward with only three goals, while Vakoun Issouf Bayo has just one goal to his name so far in 2019/20. [via TransferMarkt]
While the Hoops may have several reliable goal threats from attacking midfield positions, they seem very reliant on Edouard at centre-forward, given the sparsity of goals from others in that role.
Also, as excellently as the Frenchman has done this season, his return of 16 goals from 31 matches (0.52 per game) is still way short of Sporar’s average.
If Kmotrik’s claims about Celtic stalling in their proposal for Sporar are true, it should raise questions as to why the Hoops have not been proactive in the pursuit of the 25-year-old.
Edouard is their only centre-forward who has been scoring consistently this season and the Slovenian has an even better scoring return, so he ought to have been a priority for the Hoops in the transfer market as January began.
If Celtic miss out on Sporar and he goes to another club this month, it could well feel like a major opportunity needlessly missed by the Scottish champions.
Celtic fans, are you worried by the club’s apparent dithering in their pursuit of Sporar? How disappointing would it be if he were to sign for somebody else in January? Have your say by commenting below!
