ISMAILA SORO edged closer to sealing his £2million move to Celtic after helping Bnei Yehuda through to the next stage of the Israeli State Cup.
The 21-year-old Ivory Coast midfielder starred in his side’s 1-0 win over Hapoel Afula last night and is now expected to travel to Glasgow ahead of his anticipated transfer to the champions.
The Cup triumph is expected to be the player’s farewell to the club and the supporters.
Manager Elisha Levy revealed earlier this week that a transfer fee had already been thrashed out with the Parkhead side.
Soro is now likely to become Neil Lennon’s second January capture, following the arrival of £3.5million Polish striker Patryk Klimala.
Belgian title-winners Genk, as reported in CQN, made a late bid for the anchorman and French club Dijon also expressed late interest.
Soro – who has 18 months left on his deal – caught the eye of Hoops scouts with his stand-out performances for his club as a middle-of-the-park enforcer.
The Hoops raided the Israeli market in the summer when Lennon paid Hapoel Be’er Sheva £1.6million for versatile defender Hatem Abd Elhamed.
In his first time around as Celtic manager, Lennon also brought in Beram Kayal, Efe Ambrose and Nir Bitton from the same league.
