Celtic are yet to make their first signing of the summer transfer window, which officially opened for business last month, but they are reportedly putting in plenty of work behind the scenes.
Football Insider have reported that the Scottish giants are closing in on a deal to sign centre-forward Adam Idah on a permanent deal from Norwich City.
The outlet claims that the Hoops are set to make another offer to land the Ireland international, after their £4m bid had been turned down by the Canaries, and that a figure of £6m is likely to secure his services.
Idah spent the second half of last season on loan from the Championship outfit and caught the eye with a return of eight goals and two assists in 15 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, starting just five of those games.
The Bhoys are now looking to snap him up on a permanent deal and Football Insider's report states that there is a willingness from the player and the club to get a transfer over the line.
However, the club are also in need of a new goalkeeper to replace Joe Hart and the Premiership champions are reportedly set to make an offer for a shot-stopper.
Celtic preparing bid for £8m+ star
According to the Daily Record, the Scottish giants 'will' make another bid to sign Sparta Prague number one Peter Vindahl Jensen this summer.
The report claims that the 26-year-old colossus is their first-choice signing to replace Hart ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, having compiled a shortlist of targets to pick from.
It states that the Hoops have been trying to snap up the Danish titan for a number of weeks but it has been a difficult deal to get done as the Czechia giants are not eager to cash in on him.
Sparta Prague are said to be looking for a fee of £8m+ for their star shot-stopper and it remains to be seen how much the bid Celtic are preparing is worth.
The report, which backs up that the club are edging closer to signing Idah from Norwich, adds that the Premiership champions believe that they can get a deal over the line for Jensen before the end of the summer transfer window.
It will now be interesting to see whether this fresh move from Celtic is enough to convince Sparta Prague to part ways with the goalkeeper, as he could come in as a big upgrade on Hart between the sticks.
Joe Hart's time with Celtic in numbers
The former England international was brought to Parkhead by Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2021, signing on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur.
A veteran shot-stopper, the concern at the time may have been that his best years were behind him and that it could have been treated as one last payday.
That was far from the case for Hart as he went on to enjoy three seasons and three Premiership titles as the club's number one, keeping 64 clean sheets in 154 matches in all competitions.
In the 2023/24 Premiership campaign, the 37-year-old giant started 37 of the team's 38 matches and kept 14 clean sheets on the way to a third straight title in the division during his time in Glasgow.
The experienced ace was not perfect for the Hoops, though, as his performances in Europe left a lot to be desired, particularly in the Champions League last season.
Post-shot xG minus goals conceded (-0.28)
Bottom 6%
Clean sheet percentage (0%)
Bottom 1%
Goals conceded (2.5)
Bottom 1%
Crosses stopped (1.2%)
Bottom 1%
Defensive actions outside the penalty area (0.17)
Bottom 1%
Average distance of defensive actions (5.9 yards)
Bottom 1%
As you can see in the table above, the former Manchester City star was one of the worst-performing goalkeepers in a host of key metrics over the last 365 days of European action.
He ranked in the bottom percentile of his positional peers in that time for conceding goals, stopping crosses, sweeping outside of his penalty area, and keeping clean sheets, which shows that there is plenty of room for the club to secure an upgrade on him this summer.
Why Peter Vindahl Jensen would be an upgrade on Joe Hart
The Hoops could now land that upgrade by securing a deal to sign Jensen from Sparta Prague before the window slams shut at the end of August.
Firstly, he is 11 years younger than Hart and could come in as a long-term option for Brendan Rodgers between the sticks, as he has plenty of time left ahead of him to be the team's number one moving forward.
Jensen's form in the Europa League last season for the Czechia-based side also suggests that he could provide more quality when it comes to taking the pressure off his defence.
The 26-year-old titan stopped 4.5% of the crosses into his area, over three times as much as Hart did in Europe last term, and ranked within the top 30% or higher of goalkeepers for defensive actions outside of his penalty area per 90 (1.30) and average distance of defensive actions per 90 (16.4 yards).
This, essentially, means that Jensen comes off his line more frequently to collect crosses or clear danger outside of his box to prevent his defenders from having to do more work.
Appearances
33
37
Sofascore rating
7.12
6.85
Save success rate
76%
68%
Successful run-out percentage
100%
85%
Ground duel success rate
73%
40%
As you can see in the table above, the £8m+ stopper also outperformed Hart in a host of statistics in their respective leagues during the 2023/24 campaign.
The Danish star saved a much higher percentage of the shots against his goal whilst also being more efficient at winning ground duels and completing sweeping actions.
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1 ByDan EmeryJul 9, 2024
All of these statistics combined point to Jensen being a big upgrade on Hart as an all-round goalkeeper who can save shots and act as a sweeper-keeper, which is why this could be a fantastic signing for the club if they can get it over the line.