Celtic and Arsenal face £9.8m transfer hurdle in pursuit of January target with offers expected before Xmas

Celtic have been told the minimum amount they will have to pay for a reported target said to be attracting Arsenal attention.

The Hoops and Gunners are two of the clubs who are said to have scouted Hammarby’s rising star Bazoumana Toure. He has rose to prominence in Scandinavia and has netted nine goals with four assists in 23 games.

That has sparked rumours ahead of the transfer window opening next month, with Arsenal, Celtic Crystal Palace, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen just some of the teams who are believed to have watched Toure. Hammarby’s sporting director has now addressed the speculation.

Mikael Hjelmberg was asked how much the attacker would cost by Lundh, pressed on a figure of £9.8m. He responded "At least” but kept the door open for a possible deal happening over this winter, with some formal interest tipped before Christmas.

Hjelmberg added: “Believe it or not. I would think that maybe it will start to move properly at the end of December, or especially in January. But I wouldn’t be completely shocked if there were offers for him before Christmas. Yes, they are contacting his agents of course.

“There are some clubs that have contacted us too. Then there are new clubs written about in the media every day that I don’t know about. But there are quite a few.

“That’s how it is. There are many clubs asking about him and there are many clubs who are curious about what it would cost to buy him."