The brother of 19-year-old Manchester City defender Chidiebere Nwakali has claimed that Celtic have spoken to the Premiership club about making a move for the player.
Nwakali, a right-back, has spent the last few months in Norway with IK Start – from where Celtic signed Kristoffer Ajer who will join up with the squad at the end of this month – and the Nigerian youth internationalist has caught the eye of the Parkhead side.
His loan deal with the Norwegians is due to expire in the next few weeks and it remains to be seen what the next step may be for the player, who has recently travelled to Manchester to discuss his future with the club.
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“Celtic wanted to sign Chidiebere last week, they approached Manchester City but the club gave them a negative response,” Chidiebere’s elder brother Allwell Nwakali said.
“He was in Manchester to see the officials after he was given a two-week break by IK Start to find out if he will take part in pre-season. We are working hard for him to start playing for Man City. ”
Meanwhile, Scott Allan has spoken of his optimism about the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at the club. The managerial appointment has been the catalyst for a surge in season ticket sales and the midfielder, who was sighted only briefly last season under Ronny Deila, has described it as exciting times at the club.
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“If you look back to when he was at Liverpool and they had the three attacking players up front, it was very exciting,” he told celticfc.net. “They tried to play football the right way and got the fans off their seat, and that’s the type of football our fans look for as well.
“The fans, the players and people around the club have that buzz about the place and it’s something we are looking forward to.
“All the boys are really relishing coming back and working under him. It was a massive appointment and hopefully he brings out the best in the players we have got as we have some good quality at Celtic.
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“If you get a bigger crowd it brings out the best in you, it will give us a bit extra if we have a full 60,000 behind us and are playing well, while the other team will be more nervous. You can’t buy that and not many clubs can do that. It gives you that extra 10 per cent and the fans can suck the ball into the net.”
The Parkhead club have also been linked with a £3m move for Andre Wisdom, the 23-year-old who has been out on loan at Norwich from Liverpool this season. Rodgres has been keen on a loan move for Joe Gomez, but it has been reported that Jurgen Klopp is keen to keep the teenager at Anfield.
Elsewhere, Charlie Mulgrew has revealed that he expects his future with the club to be determined at some point this week.
"There's no offer on the table yet, but I think it's moving towards that this week,” he said. "It's exciting times ahead for Celtic. I hope I can be involved in that because I think there's a few big years coming up. It's not as quick as just signing it. These things are never quick.
"There's bits and pieces that need tied up, things need done, but hopefully we can get it done.”
Meanwhile, Celtic are set to play Inter Milan at Thomond Park in Limerick on Saturday August 13th as part of the International Champions Cup.
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