CELTIC have beaten off a late bid from Belgian aces Genk to agree a £2million deal with Ivory Coast midfielder Ismaila Soro, as CQN reported yesterday.
The 21-year-old midfielder will quit Israeli club Bnei Yehuda to join the eight-ina-row champions who hope to complete the transfer within the next 24 hours.
Soro will become Neil Lennon’s second signing of this transfer window with Polish striker Patryk Klimala poised to accept a four-and-a-half-year contract following his proposed £3.5million switch from Jagiellonia Białystok.
Genk have made an eleventh-hour bid for Ivorian, but, according to a report in the Daily Record, Celtic’s close links with the player’s agent Dudu Dahan have helped keep them as favourites for his signature.
The stars’ representative has previously secured moves to Parkhead for Beram Kayal, Efe Ambrose,Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed, who arrived in the summer from Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Newly-appointed club gaffer Elisha Levy was quoted yesterday as saying he is already looking for Soro’s replacement.
The former Israeli international manager said: “Ismaila Soro’s transfer deal to Celtic has been closed in principle and he is expected to leave in the near future. When I took this job I knew he was going, so this isn’t a surprise to me.”
