CELTIC’S hopes of signing right-back Aurelio Buta look to be fading.
The Royal Antwerp defender is a target for Ange Postecoglou who has been left with only Anthony Ralston as his recognised No.2.
Jeremie Frimpong was sold to Bayer Leverkusen for £11.8million and Hatem Abd Elhamed rejoined Hapoel Be’er Sheva for £700,000 in January and were replaced by loan signing Jonjoe Kenny. However, the former England Under-21 international failed to impress and returned to Everton at the end of a disappointing campaign.
The Parkhead club’s hierarchy have been told the price for the Portuguese full-back is £3million, as CQN reported last week.
Negotiations have been ongoing, but an agreement seems to be far off and the 24-year-old is poised to play for his club in a league match against Kortrijk tonight, according to the Daily Record.
Buta joined Antwerp initially on loan from Benfica back in 2017 before making the move a permanent one in 2018. He has been an ever-present in recent seasons.
The transfer window is due to close at 11pm on August 31 and Postecoglou is determined to get new faces in as swiftly as possible and expects to announce two signings this week.
He is not prepared to get drawn into a bidding war saga for Buta and will look elsewhere if he does not receive encouragement.
