Celtic join Birmingham City and Wolves in transfer fight for 'very explosive' star with reduced asking price
Birmingham City and Wolves are also said to be keen on the attacking star.
Celtic are claimed to have joined Birmingham City, Wolves and more in the race to sign an in-demand winger.
Boss Martin O’Neill is looking for reinforcements to bolster his Premiership title ambitions after returning to the Celtic manager’s chair, aided by the likes of player-pathway boss Shaun Maloney. Signings are required and one target is claimed to be Philip Otele.
A winger capable of playing up front, he’s been with Swiss side FC Basel since last year, having previously featured at CFR Cluj and Al Wahda. According to transfer journalist Ben Jacobs, Celtic, Birmingham City and Wolves are just some of the clubs keen on Otele after his valuation was reduced. Otele has netted 17 goals with seven assists in 51 Basel matches.
Philip Otele to Celtic latest
Jacobs said on X: “Philip Otele set to leave Basel this winter. Understand Basel have reduced their asking price and will consider offers in excess of €7m. Birmingham City remain interested. Wolves also have Otele as one of several names on their list. Lazio, Celtic and Bournemouth three other clubs to enquire. Otele has 13 goal contributions this season and was close to joining Fulham last summer.”
Basel have already told suitors like Celtic of the type of talent they’d get going forward. Sporting director Daniel Stucki said upon unveiling him at Basel: "Philip Otele is a very explosive player who brings another interesting element to our attacking play with his physicality. Thanks to his age, he has already gained a fair amount of experience and is a great alternative for us on the wing or as a striker. We are very pleased that this good opportunity arose and that we were able to bring him to FC Basel."
Focus for O’Neill tonight will be on three key points at Falkirk. O’Neill said: “The Falkirk game is a big match for us. They’re a team who are flying at the moment. I thought that even when we won in my opening game of the last period, I thought they were very strong. We got a couple of goals at important moments and that deflated them a little bit but I have the utmost regard for the manager and the job that he’s done there.”
Kieran Tierney on Celtic under Martin O’Neill
Left-back Kieran Tierney meanwhile has spoken of the positive impact made by O’Neill since he replaced Wilfried Nancy as head coach. He said: “It was disappointing. It’s not good enough losing that many games in such a short space of time at Celtic, it is never acceptable.
“For now, it is just about making it right and winning again. The first day we came back in and they (O’Neill and Maloney) were here it was just like normal again because we built up a good routine in the however many weeks they were there before, and we had good results, good momentum and it just feels like we’ve picked up from there.
“I think at any club if you lose games, you’re going to lose confidence. But this group of staff that’s come in, they’re so good at giving you confidence and making you feel good about yourself. I think you could see that at the weekend as well.”