Celtic are set to miss out on midfielder Vinicius Souza with a decision made over his future, according to a report.
Ange Postecoglou was keen to add the Brazilian to his ranks but the Lommel star now appears to be on his way to La Liga with Espanyol with the midfielder reported to already be in Spain ahead of completing a deal, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. It's been claimed as many as 20 clubs wanted to snap up the 23-year-old this summer.
Ajax, Fenerbahce, Real Betis, Galatasaray and Schalke are just a handful of those mentioned to have held a transfer interest, but it is Espanyol who appear to have won the race. The Hoops have lost Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic from the midfield area and were keen on Souza filling that void but he did have doubts over a switch to the Scottish Premiership despite guaranteed Champions League group stage football heading for Parkhead.
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Romano wrote on Twitter: "Espanyol are set to sign Brazilian midfielder Vinícius Souza. Deal in place after many approaches from different clubs. It’s almost done. #transfers
"Player now already in Spain in order to complete the move, as per @qiglesias."
Celtic has already made five permanent signings this summer in Benjamin Siegrist, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Daizen Maeda, Alexandro Bernabei and Jota all committing their future to Postecoglou's men ahead of a big campaign.
The Aussie boss is keen to add one or two more bodies - but it appears one of those won't be Souza.
Speaking previously, he said: He said: “I still think there are one or two areas where we need some more robustness in terms of the squad, just some quality in depth. I wouldn’t expect too many but there are still one or two areas I’m looking to strengthen knowing what’s ahead for us.
“It has been good so far. It has been pretty well chronicled that 12 months ago it was chaotic. In January and now we are working in a way that we know what we are after. We identify targets and then make sure we take the time to get the ones we want, so that has been good.
“It was very pleasing to get Jota and Cam on board permanently. They were massive contributors last season and we think there is more in them. To get them on-board is great and with Alexandro and Benji coming in that helps with the quality across the board.
“We are definitely looking to bring in one or two more before the window closes. Again it is about identifying what we want and making sure they fit all aspects and we are working towards that.”
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