Celtic plan to conclude a stunning £9million deal to re-sign Portuguese winger Jota over the weekend.
And they will hold fire on the £10m sale of Kyogo Furuhashi to French club Rennes until agreement with Jota is reached. The Japanese striker was pictured boarding a private jet at Glasgow airport today before later touching down on French soil.
Rennes’ Argentine boss Jorge Sampaoli confirmed the move, saying: ‘We hope first of all that the deal is finalised today. If that is the case, he (Furuhashi) could perhaps play a few minutes (in Monaco on Saturday).
‘He is a player we really wanted. We expect a lot from him because he is a player who can help us a lot, and in particular bring us depth.’
Plans for Jota to fly to Glasgow in the next 24 hours have been delayed by Storm Eowyn.
The 25-year-old left Celtic 18 months ago for a £25m deal in Saudi Arabia but, after a difficult spell, switched to Rennes last summer for a fee of around £10m.
A Parkhead target last summer, the former Benfica man was initially reticent over a return to Parkhead.
However, the French club’s move for Furuhashi opened a window of opportunity for Celtic to try again and, provided negotiations reach a satisfactory conclusion, both deals are likely to go ahead.
Furuhashi’s departure will see Celtic renew their interest in Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden, the 22-year-old Dane who manager Brendan Rodgers has been tracking for some time.
Wth 38 goals in 109 games for Brondby, Kvistgaarden has attracted interest from around Europe, and Celtic could face competition from Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Bundesliga side are looking for a replacement for Omar Marmoush, the Egyptian striker who joined Manchester City for a fee of almost £60m this week.
Kvistgaarden, who has 12 goals in 18 games across all competitions this season, is thought to want a move abroad.
Keen to ensure they get top dollar for the former Denmark Under-21 international, Brondby could hold out for a fee of around £10m including add-ons.
Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden is a target for Celtic as they prepare for life after Kyogo
Rodgers stressed earlier this month that Celtic would be ready to move quickly in the transfer market should any of their stars depart.
Meanwhile, Celtic skipper Callum McGregor has challenged the team to cause an upset against Aston Villa next week.
This week’s victory over Young Boys has already guaranteed them a place in the knockouts, most likely a spot in the play-off round.
But, if they were to win at Villa Park, they could yet exceed all expectations and go straight into the last 16.
Insisting that a place in the top eight may even be possible, McGregor said: ‘Absolutely — we want to finish strongly.
‘It’s been fantastic so far — let’s go and finish strong and see what we can do. We’re looking up the table. There’s an outside chance of maybe qualifying in the top eight.
‘That’s got to be a big incentive for us as well, if we can miss out those two (play-off) games. The team feel good and we’re looking forward to the game.
‘We’ve got one more game. Let’s see if we can push up the table even more.’
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