Celtic are on the verge of landing Chelsea teenager Landon Emenalo on a season-long loan deal. The 18-year-old left-back has been targeted as cover for Kieran Tierney after the Scottish champions passed up on re-signing Marcelo Saracchi earlier this summer.
VIP treatment at Lennoxtown
Emenalo has reportedly been given a VIP tour of the Hoops' training headquarters in Lennoxtown as well as Celtic Park. The Parkhead giants are hopeful of rubber-stamping a switch for the highly-rated defender, who starred for Chelsea in pre-season.
Emenalo has been capped by both England and the United States at youth international level. He has caught the eye of new Stamford Bridge boss Xabi Alonso in three friendly appearances this summer.
The son of former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo has been tipped for a huge future with the Blues. The Premier League giants are keen for the youngster to head out on loan to continue his development, and Emenalo could complete the move in time for next week's Champions League play-off with Austrian side LASK.
Baur on the brink
It has been a busy week for Celtic, who clinched the signing of Egypt World Cup star Haissem Hassan on a four-year deal from Real Oviedo for an initial £6 million. Germany under-21 international Mika Baur is also set to finalise his long-awaited switch after a £6.8 million fee was agreed with Bundesliga outfit Paderborn.
Barring any unexpected medical hitches, midfielder Baur, 22, should be on board before tonight's Euro squad registration deadline. Celtic had a £4 million bid rejected for Baur earlier in the summer, with Paderborn determined to hold out for a fee around double that amount.
The long-term target was finally given the green light to head to Scotland on Wednesday to complete formalities. Paderborn boss Ralf Ketteman said: “The transfer isn’t finalised yet but I have to assume it’s going ahead. It hurts both professionally and personally.”
Sigur interest intensifies
Meanwhile, Record Sport exclusively revealed that Celtic are ready to step up their interest in Canada's World Cup star Niko Sigur. Hajduk Split's Sigur has been identified as one of their main options for the defensive midfield position, along with Torino's Gvidas Gineitis.
Chief executive Michael Nicholson is expected to advance that interest and open talks with the Croatian club in the coming days. It is understood a significant seven-figure bid would be required to engage Hajduk in talks for the 22-year-old, who is an international team-mate of Alistair Johnston.
