Celtic 'likely to step up their interest' in attacking transfer deal as they rival West Ham for star
The Hoops are starting to make moves in the summer window after early passivity
Celtic have ramped up their interest in Lazio winger Matteo Cancellieri, as they reportedly rival English giants West Ham in a transfer race.
Interest in the 24-year old emerged after the £10m sale of attacker Daizen Maeda to Ipswich Town. Since then, the club are also closing in on an £11m deal for Bodo Glimt marksman Kasper Hogh as he undergoes his medical. Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur remains on the Hoops’ radar, but after the recently-promoted German side rejected a £4m bid, their Sporting Director Sebastian Lange has issued Celtic a warning.
Cancellieri, who naturally plays as a wide man but can also be deployed as a striker, made 30 appearances last season in the Serie A. Celtic are battling with West Ham for his signature in the hope they can strike a deal with his contract running out in June 2027. Striker Camilo Duran’s £6m move from Qarabag remains the club’s only summer signing to date with just over a week until their season officially gets underway against Dundee at Celtic Park.
Celtic ‘likely to step up transfer interest’ in Lazio star
According to InsideFutbol: “Celtic are ‘likely to step up their interest’ in West Ham United target Matteo Cancellieri in the coming days. Lazio winger Cancellieri has appeared on their radar as a possible option, with a number of sides looking at the 24-year-old. Celtic are set to step up on their interest in Cancellieri in the coming days and it is unclear if that will push West Ham into taking action.”
The Italian attacker came through the ranks on the other side of the Italian capital with AS Roma, before being snapped up by Hellas Verona, where he made his first senior appearance. After a successful Lazio loan switch, he made the move permanent back to the Stadio Olimpico in June 2022, where has remained since. Before last season, he enjoyed loan spell at Empoli and Parma respectively. He has 13 senior goals to his name in 142 appearances and was also capped once by Italy in 2022.
West Ham’s interest may depend on the future of their captain and talisman Jarrod Bowen. The Englishman is set to stay at the club despite last season’s relegation however speculation still lingers. The club are in a good position financially as they prepare for second tier football, having raked in upwards of £140m for outgoing transfer Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville.
What have Paderborn Chiefs said about Baur?
After Celtic’s reported rejected £4m for the midfielder, Lange responded to comments that a deal had already been agreed for the 22-year old between Paderborn and Celtic. He said via The Sun: "That's nonsense. I have no idea where this stuff comes from. Have there been offers for players during this transfer window? Yes. Are there offers right now? No. Why not? Because we rejected them all. There are sporting and financial reasons for this. Ultimately, we decide what is of interest to us. And everything that came in was, from a financial standpoint, of no interest.
"We have received offers for a few players. That's nothing unusual. I don't want to name names, because I don't want to spoil the market for one or two of them. For the club, the transfer fee alone isn't the deciding factor anyway — rather, a transfer has to make sense both financially and in sporting terms. We have a squad valuation that we calculate internally using a specific formula. There is a sporting value and a financial value.”