Celtic have less than a month to go before the summer transfer window slams shut and they must move quickly to complete the rest of the business that they want to do.
Brendan Rodgers has added three new players to his group so far and two of those – Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo – have come in to compete for the number one position, after Joe Hart's retirement at the end of last season.
The only outfield addition has been central midfielder Paulo Bernardo. He joined on a permanent transfer from Benfica earlier this month, after spending the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Parkhead from the Portuguese side.
Another former Hoops loanee now looks set to put pen to paper on a long-term contract with the club, as Adam Idah is closing in on a return to Glasgow.
Sky Sports claim that the Scottish Premiership champions have agreed a deal worth up to £9.5m with Norwich City for the centre-forward, which includes a guaranteed £8.5m fee, a further £1m in add-ons, and a 15% sell-on clause for the Canaries.
The club's current record transfer fee stands at the £9m paid to Paris Saint-Germain for Odsonne Edouard in 2018, which means that Idah could end up being a club-record signing if all of those add-ons are activated.
Celtic now eyeing left-back target
With a deal for Idah seemingly on the verge of completion, Celtic have now set their sights on a swoop for a left-back to bolster their defensive options.
According to DaveOCKOP, Rodgers is keen to complete a permanent deal to sign Owen Beck from Liverpool before the end of the summer window.
The report claims that the Hoops are one of three teams in the race to land the Welsh full-back in the last few weeks before the deadline passes at the end of this month.
It states that English Championship sides Queens Park Rangers and Leeds United are also interested in signing the 22-year-old starlet, which means that Celtic face plenty of competition for his signature.
DaveOCKOP adds that a fee of around £3m would be enough to tempt the Premier League giants into cashing in on him, but the Bhoys are not near that figure as of yet.
It also reveals that Liverpool's preference would be for him to put pen to paper on a new contract at Anfield before going back out on loan, with Leeds and QPR both willing to snap him up on a temporary basis to improve their respective squads.
Who Owen Beck would be competing with at Celtic
If Rodgers does win the race to land the young talent from his former club then he would be competing with Greg Taylor for a starting berth at left-back.
The Scotland international is currently the only senior left-sided full-back in the Celtic squad as it stands, with Alexandro Bernabei out on loan, and this means that he does not have any competition for his position.
Taylor has had a solid start to the current campaign, with one assist and two clean sheets in two starts in the Premiership, and was a reliable performer for the Scottish giants in the division last term.
The 26-year-old ace provided a creative threat down the left flank whilst also being relatively solid defensively for Celtic, as they won the league title.
Appearances
35
Assists
4
Key passes per game
1.7
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.2
Ground duel success rate
57%
Aerial duel success rate
46%
As you can see in the table above, Taylor almost created two chances per game for Rodgers' side and won the majority of his duels on the deck, although he struggled slightly when dealing with aerial challenges.
The Scottish dynamo did struggle, however, in Europe as his performances across six starts in the Champions League left a lot to be desired.
He did not create a single 'big chance' for his teammates and made just 0.7 key passes per game. In fact, Taylor was dribbled past as many times per game (0.7) as he created chances, whilst he also gave away one penalty.
This suggests that the defender failed to make the step up to Europe's premier competition, which may be why Rodgers wants another left-back to compete with him.
Why Celtic should sign Owen Beck
Celtic should now work hard to secure a £3m permanent deal for Beck from Liverpool before the end of the window because he could come in as an upgrade on Taylor.
The Welsh whiz, who was hailed as "spectacular" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, spent the majority of the 2023/24 campaign on loan with Dundee in the Premiership.
This means that the Reds youngster is already a proven performer in Scotland and would not need time to adapt to the country and division, as he has already showcased his quality at that level.
Beck caught the eye in Liverpool's academy, with a return of two goals and 11 assists in 54 U21 matches at left-back, and carried that form over to senior level with Dundee last term.
Appearances
25
35
Assists
4
4
Key passes per game
2.3
1.7
Dribbles completed per game
1.4
0.7
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.9
2.2
Duel success rate
55%
52%
As you can see in the table above, the £3m-rated star created more chances per game on average and stood out defensively with a higher duel success rate and far more tackles and interceptions combined per match in comparison to Taylor.
This suggests that Beck outperformed the Celtic left-back in and out of possession throughout the Premiership season, with more creativity, more quality in transition with his dribbling skills, and more solidity defensively.
This was backed up by Beck's inclusion in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year ahead of Taylor, which shows that their peers deemed the Dundee sensation to be the best player in his position in the league.
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Therefore, Celtic could improve their team by swooping to sign Beck, who also has plenty of years left to develop and improve at the age of 22, and that could also help their chances in the Champions League if he can offer more than the Scottish defender did.