CELTIC are locked in talks with Jeffrey Schlupp who spent the second half of the season at the champions during his loan stint from Crystal Palace.
The Ghanaian international left-back was offered a permanent conract after impressing Brendan Rodgers sufficiently over his 15 appearances – especially his performance in the 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena in the Champions League play-off in February.
The 32-year-old defender played in the 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice last month that sealed the Hoops’ fourth successive title and he came within inches of a spectacular extra-time goal in the Scottish Cup Final with a ferocious first-time drive from outside the box that almost shattered the Aberdeen crossbar.
END OF THE LOAN…Jeffrey Schlupp in action against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final in his final game for Celtic in a temporary capacity. Now the left-back is mulling over a permanent deal.
Schlupp is up for grabs as a free agent after officially ending his career at Palace today and the German-born performer signed off with a classy message.
He told the club website: “It’s been an incredible eight years playing for this club.
“I’ve met some great people – the chairman, the gaffer and all the staff I’ve met over the years – and it’s meant a lot to have played for Crystal Palace. A big ‘thank you’ to this group, who have achieved something so special.
“You ask anybody about the Palace fans, and they know about the atmosphere that they create, and the amount of times they’ve pulled us through in difficult times. They’ve been our 12th man – so thank you to all the fans who have always supported me.
“Hopefully, I’ve done you proud. I’ll definitely see you again soon.”
Schlupp scored 19 goals in his 247 appearances for the club after joining from Leicester City in January 2017.
Ironically, his newly-relegated former club are interested in taking the versatile left-sided performer back to the Midlands.
