{"id":555705,"date":"2026-04-28T21:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/555705\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T21:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:13:10","slug":"celtic-in-the-hunt-for-13m-playmaker-but-clock-is-ticking-before-transfer-value-skyrockets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/555705\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic ‘in the hunt’ for \u00a313m playmaker but clock is ticking before transfer value skyrockets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hoops are set for an overhaul this summer and reports in Italy say they’re keen on a man tipped for a \u00a313m move\"Issa<\/p>\n

Issa Doumbia celebrates his goal against Empoli(Image: Mattia Radoni\/IPA Sport\/ipa-agency.net\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

Celtic are still said to targeting a move for Venezia midfielder Issa Doumbia after tracking him for the last six months \u2013 but may have to move fast with his transfer<\/a> value set to skyrocket.<\/p>\n

Reports in Italy first credited the Hoops with an interest in Doumbia back in December when it was claimed they watched him during a 2-0 win over Monza.<\/p>\n

Back then he was rated at \u00a35.3m but his valuation has spiked dramatically since then. He’s flourished into one of the best midfielders in Serie B, scoring nine times in all competitions from central midfield including a crucial strike against Empoli over the weekend, and the 22-year-old is now being valued at \u20ac15m (\u00a313m) by the Italian press.<\/p>\n

Gazzetta dello Sport say the Hoops are still interested and are joined by Brugge, Espanyol and Southampton \u2013 the latter of whom are said to already have had a bid rejected.<\/p>\n

For now, Doumbia and Venezia, who lead Serie B by three points and can win it this Friday, are focusing on gaining promotion to the top flight.<\/p>\n

If and when they do that though it’s possible Doumbia’s already rocketing value will rise further.<\/p>\n

Throw into the bargain that Southampton \u2013 who could be in line for English Premier League riches if the playoffs go their way \u2013 may come back to the table, and it could be that Doumbia has some serious offers on the table.<\/p>\n

It comes as Martin O’Neill<\/a> teased the potential for a dramatic summer overhaul<\/a> which could see the likes of Reo Hatate<\/a> depart and make room for a player of Doumbia’s profile.<\/p>\n

\u201dReo is a fine footballer,” he said. “I think two seasons ago he’d be one of the best in Scotland really. Midfield players tend to go through these little periods where you can’t do anything wrong.<\/p>\n

“You make three or four mistakes in a match in relatively quick succession and then you lose a bit of confidence and things like that.<\/p>\n

“But he’ll be around. He’ll be around at this minute. You’re hoping that the competition for places… you’ve got Arne Engels coming back now from injury.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got Alex (Oxlade-Chamberlain) trying to get up to speed all the time and making an impact. Even if he never kicked another ball for us, he’s won two matches for us by scoring the goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of getting other players into the football club, yes, we will have a top-heavy squad come the end of the season or come when people are reporting back. I did not realise how big it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, players are out all over the place and I want, believe it or not, if I was here, I’d like to make room for younger players coming through.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hoops are set for an overhaul this summer and reports in Italy say they’re keen on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2817,18667,218,30905,32195,12652,101,2719,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-555705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-celtic-fc","tag-celtic-transfer-news","tag-football","tag-martin-oneill","tag-reo-hatate","tag-serie-a","tag-sports","tag-transfer-talk","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}