Summary Celtic are reportedly looking to bolster their goalkeeper ranks. They could look at signing a 6 foot 2 stopper from the Premier League in January. The player is supposedly keen on making the move in order to become a number 1 'keeper.
The summer transfer window officially slammed shut last week but Celtic are reportedly already eyeing up a target for when the market reopens for business.
What's the latest Celtic transfer news?
Brendan Rodgers was able to add nine new players to his first-team squad with Paulo Bernardo, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma, Maik Nawrocki, Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, and Nat Phillips all arriving.
According to The Scottish Sun, the Hoops boss is now eyeing up a swoop to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in a future transfer window.
The report claims that the Scottish giants checked on his availability this summer but the Premier League side were unwilling to sanction an exit at this juncture, however, it is said that a move further down the line is 'likely'.
It states that the Republic of Ireland international is also tempted by the prospect of being the long-term number one at Parkhead, which could help the Bhoys in their pursuit of his services.
How good is Caoimhin Kelleher?
The 6 foot 2 titan would come in as a dream heir to current Celtic shot-stopper Joe Hart as his form, in limited minutes, with Liverpool in recent years suggests that he could be a phenomenal signing for the club.
At the age of 24, Kelleher is 12 years younger than the former England international and would arrive with plenty of years left ahead of him to impress between the sticks as the long-term replacement for the ex-Manchester City star.
Unfortunately, he is currently behind Brazil number one Alisson at Anfield which has understandably led to a lack of minutes on the pitch at first-team level for Jurgen Klopp's side.
However, the Irish titan has caught the eye when he has been able to get on the teamsheet.
The talented youngster averaged an eye-catching Sofascore rating of 7.53 over three Premier League and League Cup appearances combined during the 2022/23 campaign, which included a 74% save success rate over two cup outings.
That came after his particularly impressive performances for Liverpool in the 2021/22 season as the 24-year-old giant averaged a Sofascore rating of 8.03 over four League Cup matches, in which time he saved an incredibly impressive 84% of the shots on his goal, to help his team to win the competition.
Hart, on the other hand, struggled at times last term for Celtic. The 36-year-old stopper averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.77 across 37 Scottish Premiership games and saved just 65% of the shots on target against him, showing that he stopped a lower percentage of strikes and delivered a worse average performance level than the Bhoys target.
He also made a worrying four mistakes that directly led to a shot for the other team during the top-flight campaign, with the veteran clearly prone to making errors with the ball at his feet. Whereas, Kelleher has not made a single blunder leading to a shot or goal for the opposition over the last two seasons and could be more reliable between the sticks.
Therefore, the Liverpool prospect, who was once hailed as "exceptional" by his national team boss Stephen Kenny, could be a dream heir to Hart as his performances for the Reds suggest that the potential is there for him to be an upgrade on the Englishman if he can deliver those performances week-in-week-out north of the border.
