Celtic linked with move for Atletico Madrid’s Ivan Saponjic

Celtic could look to sign Atletico Madrid striker Ivan Saponjic, should Odsonne Edouard depart this summer, as per a report from Sky Sports.

Neil Lennon is preparing to fight to keep hold of his star Frenchman, however, he is believed to be looking at replacements should he lose the battle to keep his best player and Saponjic looks to be one of those replacements.

The Serbian striker, who only joined the La Liga giants in 2019, has struggled to adapt to life at the Wanda Metropolitano and could be looking for a way out.

The Hoops could provide that escape should they need to find a replacement for Edouard, something which could happen following their catastrophic Champions League exit on Wednesday night.

The Serbia Under-21 international is reportedly open to a move to the UK this summer with Crystal Palace also said to be keeping tabs on him.

Saponjic’s performances during Serbia’s U20 World Cup triumph in 2015 put him on the map. The strong striker was the youngest player in the squad at 17 and scored in the last-16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals.

The 23-year-old 6’3 striker earned his move to Madrid with his performances for Benfica B and whilst on loan at Belgian club Zulte Waregem, although things have not gone to plan following his switch as he found himself behind Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata in the pecking order.

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Lennon will be desperate to keep hold of Edouard as he looks to bring a tenth consecutive Scottish Premiership success to Parkhead, however, he is right to line up replacements should the unthinkable happen.

Ultimately, we all know that every player at Celtic has a price and if someone comes in for Edouard with a huge offer, he, unfortunately, could go.

Saponjic isn’t on the same level as Edouard yet but it’ll be almost impossible for The Hoops to get a like-for-like replacement, so getting in another talented, but raw, forward will almost certainly be Celtic’s plan if they do lose the Frenchman.