CELTIC’S move for Wigan starlet Kyle Joseph has hit a snag.
The Scotland Under-21 frontman has been on the Hoops radar for most of the season, as CQN reported.
Joseph is out of contract at the end of next month and it looked as though the Parkhead men would have to shell out only £300,000 in a cross-border transfer much in the way they did with Moussa Dembele when he left Fulham as Brendan Rodgers’ first signing in the summer of 2016.
However, the third-tier English side have offered the 19-year-old forward lucrative new terms to extend his stay and fend off interest of the Hoops and Newcastle who are prepared to pay £500,000 in a compensation fee, according to Chronicle Live.
Joseph scored five goals for the struggling Division One outfit and has attarcted the attention of St James’s Park gaffer Steve Bruce who needs to strengthen his striking department with Andy Carroll likely to leave on a free while Dwight Gayle, once a target for Neil Lennon, has also been touted for a potential move.
The young frontman made his Latics debut in October, but his progress stalled with a back injury in February.
Joseph returned in April and featured in four of the club’s final five League One games. Overall, he started 12 of his 18 league appearances to catch the eye of Celtic and Newcastle.
He now has four weeks to ponder his future with Wigan desperate to tie him down on a three-year enhanced contract.
