ELIAS JELERT: CELTIC LINKED WITH GALATASARY RIGHT BACK
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 5 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Brendan Rodgers said last week that he would “look from within” to replace injured Alistair Johnston, who, it appears will miss the next 3 months through injury.
Tony Ralston has proven himself a dependable deputy in domestic fixtures, however, concerns remain about Europe.
By tonight we will know if Celtic are playing in the UEFA Champions League or Europa League group stages. In either case, another right back may well be needed, with Johnston set to miss possibly the majority of the group stage.
Is Elias Jelert Celtic’s Right Back Answer?
Against this backdrop, reports emerged this afternoon linking Celtic with a move for Galatasaray’s Danish right back, Elias Jelert. Celtic are, reportedly looking at an initial loan for a fee of around 1.5 million pounds. However, crucially, the mooted deal would also include an option to buy the player for around 8.5 million next summer, if all goes well.
At 22-years-old, Jelert is already a full international for Denmark. Jelert burst onto the scene in the Danish Superliga at age 18. Three successful years with FC Copenhagen caught the attention of Galatasaray last summer. Jelert moved there last summer, featuring 34 times for the Turkish giants last season.
The player certainly fits the profile and standard that Celtic should be looking at. I would also add that there are plenty of outlets within Turkiye sharing this news today. However, Turkiye isn’t the most reliable when it comes to vetting football gossip. This is a widespread rumor, but that doesn’t necessarily corelate with it being genuine.
Still, Brendan Rodgers did not rule out dipping into the transfer market for another right back last week. So, this is a story that may well have some truth to it.
Getting past Kairat tonight would also allow Celtic to offer the prospect of Champions League football to the young Dane. Something that Galatasaray, as Turkish Champions last season, have already secured.
A loss tonight in Kazakhstan may well kill this deal, but one would hope that the player isn’t fixated only on the Champions League.
Either this way, this could well be one of this “last minute deadline day deals”.
I think we’re all at a point now where we expect Celtic to do a few of those over the coming week, however we fare in Almaty tonight.
We’ll have to wait and see on this one. However Jelert is certainly an exciting young prospect, who despite only having 3 senior caps so far, remains very highly rated in Denmark.