EXCLUSIVE: Thompson backs Celtic to beat Rangers to Riquelme signing

Earlier this month, reports from Spain revealed that both Celtic and Rangers are interested in signing Atletico Madrid youngster Rodrigo Riquelme on a free transfer in the summer.

The 19-year-old is out of contract with the Spanish giants at the end of the season and it looks like he could be on the move, with both Glasgow clubs being tipped as possible destinations for the teenager.

Speaking exclusively to Read Celtic, former Hoops star and coach Alan Thompson revealed that signing Riquelme is the type of deal that his former side should look to explore, given their success at bringing in younger players from Europe in the recent past.

When asked if it would make sense for Celtic to pursue a free transfer to sign the teenager, who has been valued by Transfermarkt at £2.25m, Thompson said:

[Celtic] have got a great track record of developing young players from European clubs. The likes of Van Dijk, Wanyama, Edouard, Dembele, they’ve got a track record of doing that and it works for them. They have a history of bringing these players in, developing them and then selling them on for a lot of money, so I’d say it’s worth a go.

With football in Scotland postponed for the immediate future, Celtic will have a bit of free time to potentially work on some summer transfers and one of those potential deals could be to tie Riquelme down to an agreement that could see him move to Scotland at the end of the campaign.