Celtic are battling Turkish giants Fenerbahce in a bid to sign former Swansea City forward Andre Ayew.
The Lowdown: Ayew released
Ayew failed to earn promotion with Swansea last season, losing in the playoff final against Brentford at Wembley.
As a result, the Welsh club released the attacker, who was their top earner by some distance.
The versatile forward, who has scored 131 goals at club level during his career, is Swansea’s record signing after joining for £18m in 2018.
The Championship outfit won’t be receiving a fee for the Ghana international’s services, though, and it appears as if the Hoops now want to take advantage of Ayew’s availability.
The Latest: Hoops in the running
According to Turkish outlet Fotomac, cited by the Daily Record (11/06; 21:49), both the Hoops and Fenerbahce are pursuing a deal for the 31-year-old.
Wages are thought to be a key factor in Ayew’s next move, with a transfer fee not required.
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The Verdict: McKay may need to break a club record
Ayew’s Swansea deal was thought to be worth a whopping £83,000-a-week - £60,000-a-week more than the club’s second-highest earner.
Celtic’s highest earner last season, excluding loanees, was Scott Brown on £23,000-a-week. He’s now with Aberdeen, so you’d expect CEO Dominic McKay would have to offer Ayew a club record-breaking contract to have a chance of securing the forward’s services.
From the outside looking in, it appears as if a deal may well be extremely hard to strike considering the scarcely believable wages he was on with a second-tier side.
However, with the Hoops undergoing a rebuild on and off the pitch, who knows, they could be willing to offer Ayew mega money to bring him to Parkhead and lead the new era. Only time will tell.
In other news: 'From what I hear' - Sky Sports pundit drops Celtic claim which could interest Ange Postecoglou, find out more here.