Scottish Premiership champions Celtic are in the market for a new goalkeeper with Joe Hart retiring at the end of the current campaign. 
And with a deal for Coaimhin Kelleher already likely to be difficult to say the least – Liverpool are likely to demand a sizeable fee for the ‘world-class’ Irishman – Celtic’s pursuit of an alternative goalkeeping target is also likely to be littered with potential pitfalls.
HITC Football understands that Kelleher is The Hoops’ number one choice to step into the place Hart is due to vacate in a matter of months. Celtic are already trimming their wage bill in an attempt to free up funds too, David Turnbull, Alexandro Bernabei and Liel Abada among those who have said their goodbyes since the turn of the year.
Celtic need a goalkeeper to replace Joe Hart
But Kelleher – while Celtic’s first choice – is far from the only one. HITC have been told that there is interest in Ugurcan Cakir too. But after a decade at his boyhood club, rising through the rans before captaining Trabzonspor to the Turkish Super Lig title, luring Cakir away from his beloved Black Sea surroundings is likely to post a major test of Celtic’s pulling power.
“I have been a Trabzonspor fan since my childhood,” Cakir says in a video posted by Gunebakis. “My father instilled this love in us. After spending a certain time in the youth team, I was promoted to the first-team. I have lifted four trophies.
“It is an incredible feeling for me to win a trophy with the club I support. I have always felt proud. It is a great and honourable feeling to be the captain of this team.”
Perhaps the best way to emphasise the difficulties Celtic may face should they step up their pursuit of Cakir is to imagine how hard it would be for an interested suitor to lure Callum McGregor away from Parkhead.
Trabzonspor will be under no pressure to cash in either, with a further three years left on Cakir’s contract.
Ugurcan Cakir is on Brendan Rodgers’ wishlist
“You can really see people wearing our shirt on the street all the time. Trabzonspor is very important for Trabzon,” adds Cakir, who has become something of a living legend on the banks of the Black Sea.
“Playing for Trabzonspor was already my dream as a child. It gives great pride to me, my family and my loved ones.”
Celtic, then, have not only a potential £7.5 million asking-price to contend with. They also face the unenviable task of encouraging the captain to turn his back on his beloved, boyhood club.
HITC, meanwhile, understands that one-time Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele could be strutting his stuff in the Premier League next season. There is interest from West Ham, Wolves and Everton, to name but three.
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