CELTIC target Oscar Gloukh will be offered a new contract at Maccabi Tel Aviv over concerns he could quit the club for a cut-price fee.
The 18-year-old forward, who has been watched by Hoops scouts since the start of the season, will be a free agent when his current deal expires in June 2024.
The Israeli top-flight outfit are determined to persuade their hottest property to agree to an extension as he continues to impress with four goals in his last three appearances with the team taking over at the top of the league.
The Tel Aviv club had originally slapped an £8million valuation on the exciting teenager, as CQN reported last month.
OSCAR BRAVO…Israeli teenage sensation Oscar Gloukh celebrates another goal for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
They fear they may have to accept half that sum with his contract running down.
They have launched a bid to extend his stay by at least a year, according to local outlet Sport 1, who report “the parties are expected to soon start sitting down on numbers and a contract to try and reach an agreement” before the January window opens.
They insist Gloukh is in “no rush to run abroad” and a spokesperson for the agency representing the player, Sharar Greenberg Sports and Law, told them: “The goal is to build trust and a partnership between the parties so that everyone is satisfied. There is time for everything.”
Just a month after taking over as Neil Lennon’s long-term successor, Ange Postecoglou raided the Israel market for one of his first buys for the club when he paid £3.5million for goalscoring winger Liel Abada from Hapoel Petah Tikva.
AT THE DOUBLE…Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi celebrate Celtic’s 4-0 midweek win at Motherwell.
The Hoops have maintained as interest in the country’s top talent and others such as Nir Bitton, Ismaila Soro, Hatem Abd Elhamed and Beram Kayal have joined the Parkhead outfit in recent years.
Postecoglou and recruitment chief Mark Lawwell are planning ahead to cover all eventualities in the January transfer window.
The World Cup Finals next month and December could trigger interest in the champions’ contingent with Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda all likely to be involved with Japan.
Cameron Carter-Vickers (USA), Josip Juranovic (Croatia) and Aaron Mooy (Australia) could also shine during football’s showpiece in Qatar.
Postecoglou has been putting a programme in place and that could be triggered if there is a frenzy on the sales front at the turn of the year.
