Celtic Transfer News: According to reports, Celtic is interested in signing former Barcelona and Chelsea defender Xavier Mbuyamba this summer, but the player is downplaying a transfer to the Scottish Premiership winners.
According to Sky Sports, Mbuyamba has played his way into Celtic’s summer plans. However, in an interview with De Telegraaf, the so-called “new Virgil van Dijk” made it plain that he is not interested in leaving FC Volendam.
In 2022, Mbuyamba committed to a three-year stint at Kras Stadium. Even though he had intended to remain with Volendam until 2024, the opportunity to play Champions League football under Ange Postecoglou may have persuaded the former La Masia sensation to accelerate his career timeline.
Celtic is interested in signing former Barcelona and Chelsea defender Xavier Mbuyamba
Sky reports that Celtic has competition from a number of teams, including AZ Alkmaar, Ajax, and Watford. The 6’5″ centre back has scored five goals this season for a Volendam team that seems to have a good chance of avoiding relegation to the Dutch second division. He has drawn comparisons to former Hoops star Van Dijk owing to his huge size and his accurate passing.
Mbuyamba would challenge Cameron Carter-Vickers for playing time at right centre back in Celtic manager Postecoglou’s starting lineup. Meanwhile, Carl Starfelt’s summer holds a lot of unknowns for him.
According to Sky Sports, a guy who overcame his “bomb-scare” image to become one of Postecoglou’s most trusted lieutenants is attracting interest from teams in the Premier League and beyond.
“My agent is in the Netherlands. Soon, we will discuss what is going on,” Mbuyamba explains.
“There will be interest. But the main question is whether a move is right for me. If not, then I will stay. I have said that I will stay with FC Volendam for a maximum of two years, and this is the first season. This was my first year in men’s football. I played in everything, showed that I can perform well and stayed fit. That’s great. I can’t complain about my performance,” he added.
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