Celtic make offer to sign Hasan Ali Kaldirim

Celtic and West Ham are both in the running to sign Fenerbahce defender Hasan Ali Kaldirim, according to Yahoo!.

Brendan Rodgers wants to bring in some defensive cover this month with Emilio Izaguirre out of contract this summer and yet to sign a new deal – and has made an offer to sign the Turkish international left-back.

The 27-year-old came through the ranks at Kaiserslautern before a brief spell with Mainz came to an end in January 2010 when he returned to his homeland of Turkey with Kayserispor.

Enjoying a great 18-month spell with the Super Lig outfit, he joined Turkish giants Fenerbahce in a £3.2m deal in July 2012 where he has gone on to make 132 appearances, scoring on three occasions.

Kaldirim is out of contract in the summer and clubs are able to hold pre-contract talks with the Turk over a summer move, with Celtic offering the defender a deal to join them ahead of next season.

Celtic were reportedly interested in Kaldirim in the summer but after failing to sign him have kept tabs on his situation and could now sign him on a free transfer.

However, they face competition from West Ham for his signature as the Hammers have also made an offer for the left-back. Should either side agree terms, they could opt to sign him this month for a nominal fee.

Besiktas are also interested in signing him but Fenerbahce don’t want to lose a player to a division rival.