Celtic are reportedly closing in on the signing of Swedish defender Gustaf Lagerbielke in a £3m deal from Elfsborg but he may not be the last centre-back to arrive at Parkhead this summer.
Who are Celtic interested in signing?
It was recently claimed that the Hoops remain keen on a swoop for Volendam central defender Xavier Mbuyamba in spite of their prospective sixth signing.
The Bhoys have already brought in Odin Thiago Holm, Maik Nawrocki, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, and Marco Tilio to bolster Brendan Rodgers' squad, with Lagerbielke now set to compete for a spot in the defence.
However, the Northern Irish tactician seemingly still has an eye on another addition in that area of the pitch as Mbuyamba could be the third centre-back to arrive after the Elfsborg star and Nawrocki.
How good is Xavier Mbuyamba?
Whilst Lagerbielke could come in to replace Carl Starfelt, Rodgers could land an upgrade on Stephen Welsh by securing a deal for the Volendam titan.
The 6 foot 5 colossus enjoyed an excellent campaign in the Dutch top-flight and his performances suggest that the potential is there for him to offer more than the current Celtic enforcer, who came off the bench to replace Cameron Carter-Vickers against Aberdeen last weekend.
Mbuyamba appeared in 28 Eredivisie matches last season and caught the eye with his defensive work at the back.
The former Chelsea academy prospect made an eye-catching 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game, which was more than any Hoops defender managed and 2.2 more than Welsh produced per outing.
He also made 5.4 clearances per game as the towering brute displayed his positional awareness and ability to read danger to clear the ball away when facing pressure from the opposition, whilst no Celtic player made more than 4.2 clearances per clash.
The 21-year-old titan's 6.2 duels won per match also eclipsed Welsh's five battles won per game for the Hoops in the Scottish Premiership last term, which shows that he engaged in more physical contests to win possession back for his team.
Mbuyamba's impressive defensive output for the Dutch side indicates that he could be a superb option for Rodgers due to his knack for being able to clear danger and make numerous interventions per game to cut out opposition attacks.
Volendam's starlet is also an excellent attacking threat from set-pieces as he racked up five Eredivisie goals last season, which is four more than any current Hoops centre-back produced in that time.
Whereas, the 23-year-old Scotsman has only scored four goals in 53 first-team appearances for the club to date.
These statistics suggest that Mbuyamba could be a "complete" – as he was once described by talent scout Jacek Kulig – upgrade on Welsh due to his offensive and defensive qualities.
Therefore, Rodgers must swoop to sign the giant defender, who was also hailed as "elegant" by Kulig, after the deal for Lagerbielke in order to improve the depth of his squad.
This could also allow the Scottish side to consider Welsh's future as the centre-back has been touted with a move to the Serie A this summer, which could be a possibility if he falls further down the pecking order.