Celtic Lodge bid £6m for ‘huge talent’ for O’Neill

After the flourishes of Ange Postecoglou’s imposing Liel Abadda, Daenen Maeda and Jota, Celtic’s winger numbers have dwindled far in just a few years, and Parkhead’s hierarchy have failed time and time again in the transfer market.

Having seen their latest wing success story, Nicolas Kuhn, leave for Como over the summer, the Hoops have strangely moved to fill the void by signing two more wingers on the opposite flank in the form of Sebastian Tunekuti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha.

The merits of both of these deals are still being debated, with Tunekuti once again looking under par against Utrecht on Thursday, but Balikwisa is yet to score for his new team, despite Celtic having been chasing the £5m man for a long time.

With the aforementioned Jota likely to miss the remainder of the season, there remains a substantial lack of magic and unpredictability in the side, traits long associated with the Glasgow giants.

As usual, the Hoops were late in acquiring such key additions this month, but there could still be a deal or two made before the window slams shut.

Celtic Lodge set to sign new winger O’Neill

January is notoriously difficult, but it has been something of a golden period for Celtic in recent years, having welcomed the likes of Alistair Johnston to Glasgow the previous year and is set to welcome Coon from Rapid Vienna in 2024.

Meanwhile, 2022 was a particularly fruitful period for then-coach Postecoglou, with Maeda, Matt O’Reilly and Reo Hatate each emerging as key players at the club after joining midway through the season.

Given the tumultuous nature of the current campaign so far, it is thought that moves are being made behind the scenes, with Celtic keen to inject similar quality and freshness this time around.

In fact, Martin O’Neill’s side are said to have made a £3.5m offer for Dunajska Streda sensation Damir Resic, according to the Daily Record, with Red Bull Salzburg also making an offer of their own in recent days.

However, both of these approaches have been rejected by everyone, with the Slovak side desperate to keep hold of the 22-year-old until the end of the season.

However, interest in the young Hungarian has not yet ‘cooled down’ and it remains to be seen whether any suitors come close to the reported £6m asking price.

Why Redick could be Celtic’s new Jota

Kuhn could have pushed him, but he stands out as arguably the most exciting winger Celtic have lined up in recent decades, and such was his impact in his first spell under Postecoglou.

The Portuguese maverick was nothing short of exciting over the past two seasons, first signing from Benfica on a loan deal in 2021 before signing on a permanent basis for £6.5m a year later.

In the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, he reached double figures in both goals and assists in the Premiership, creating a combined 30 ‘big chances’ as a left winger.

A consummate provider and goalscorer, Jota was a huge threat with his commanding form on the left, and it was hoped that Lezic could be just as destructive on the other flank.

The promising winger, who was described as a “huge talent” by journalist Bence Boksak, has scored seven goals in just 14 league games this season, and five goals in 18 league games in 2024/25.

But much more than just a goalscorer like Jota, the £6 million man boasts a real creative flair, creating three ‘big chances’ this season and averaging 2.1 key passes per game.

For comparison, Jota of the Hoops averaged 2.0 and 1.9 in that metric in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

The similarity between the two is their natural dribbling ability, with Jota averaging 1.7 and 1.5 successful dribbles respectively in his two seasons, while Rezic has averaged 2.6 successful dribbles this season.

Much like Celtic’s current players, the Hungarian is the type of player that supporters simply love to watch, taking on players at will while boasting an end product to match.

The prospect of having Jota on one side and Jota on the other next season could be tantalizing for the Parkhead side. This is because current crops have been too ineffective for the past six months.

While £6m may seem like a lot of money, it is worth considering that a similar investment yielded a huge return when Jota were sold to Saudi Arabia in a £25m deal in 2023.

Despite their relative obscurity, Redditch seem destined to follow a similar trajectory in the coming years.