Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers could look to use the upcoming summer transfer window, which officially opens for business on Friday, to bolster his playing squad over the coming weeks and months.
The former Leicester City boss may want to dip into the market to add more quality to his side, despite watching his men lift two trophies during the 2023/24 campaign.
Rodgers secured the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup during his first year back at Parkhead, having replaced Ange Postecoglou last summer.
The Northern Irish boss, however, may want to pursue even more trophies next term and is now reportedly looking at a centre-back to add to his options at the back.
Celtic's interest in Austrian colossus
According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, the Scottish giants have a "concrete" interest in Salernitana central defender Flavius Daniliuc, who has two years left to run on his contract with the Italian outfit.
The journalist claims that the Hoops are keen on a deal to bring the 23-year-old colossus over to Glasgow during the summer transfer window, but does not mention how much it would cost the club to get a transfer over the line.
Plettenberg adds, however, that Austrian side RB Salzburg would like to keep hold of the young titan after he enjoyed a spell on loan in his home country during the 2023/24 campaign.
This means that the Bhoys look set to face competition in the race to secure the Serie A enforcer's signature over the coming weeks and months.
Celtic's interest in signing Daniliuc should, though, come as bad news for current Hoops centre-back Maik Nawrocki ahead of next season.
Why this is bad news for Maik Nawrocki
Rodgers swooped to sign the Polish defender from Legia Warsaw for a reported fee of £4m last summer but he endured a difficult first season in Glasgow.
The 23-year-old only made ten appearances in the Premiership throughout the season, and was an unused substitute in a further nine games, as Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers were preferred ahead of him at the heart of the defence.
Appearances
10
11
Tackles per game
1.2
1.5
Interceptions per game
0.8
1.4
Ball recoveries per game
2.3
4.7
Duel success rate
57%
52%
As you can see in the table above, Daniluic also outperformed Nawrocki in a number of key defensive metrics this term, whilst playing for RB Salzburg on loan during the second half of the campaign.
These statistics suggest that the potential is there for the 6 foot 2 star, who was once dubbed a "Rolls Royce" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, to come in and offer more than the current Hoops defender, by making more interventions to cut out opposition attacks each game.
Irrespective of whether Daniluic would be an upgrade on Nawrocki or not, this news should still concern the Polish titan as it suggests that Rodgers wants to improve the quality of his options in his position, which is worrying when you consider that he only played ten league games amongst the current crop.
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The former Legia star's game time could, therefore, decrease further next term if the manager gets his wish and adds a new centre-back to the group, and that could leave the 23-year-old star to consider his short and long-term future at Parkhead.
