CELTIC have been linked with a move for Swedish international defender Erik Johansson, just a day after securing the signature of Dedryck Boyata on a four year contract.
Boyata signed from Manchester City for a fee of £1.5M and told the assembled media that he was a direct replacement for Scotland’s Young Player of the Year Jason Denayer who has completed his year long loan period at Celtic and has returned to Manchester City.
Erik Johansson has been a key figure in the Malmo side that won the Swedish championship and has played in both central defence and also as a holding midfielder. Celtic have scouted the player and now according to Swedish outlet Fotbolldirekt, the Scottish 4IAR champions are set to test Malmo’s resolve to hold onto the player by submitting a bid of around £1M for the 26 year old stopper.
Johansson has won five senior caps for Sweden.He started his career at Falkenbergs before moving to GAIS before signing for Malmo in 2013 and winning a league winners medal in his first season and repeating the feat this year.
Virgil Van Dijk looks set to be at the heart of the Celtic defence for the important Champions League qualifiers in the summer. However in a situation similar to Fraser Forster last summer, the Dutch defender may move on when the outcome is clear and hopefully Celtic have reached the Group stages. Van Dijk has attracted interest from a variety of clubs in England including Everton, Sunderland and Arsenal.
Former Hearts skipper Danny Wilson, who is now a free agent, remains on Ronny Deila’s shopping list and may have to await developments elsewhere before discovering if Celtic want to pursue their interest in the former Liverpool player.
