Celtic are reported to be preparing for interest in Carl Starfelt.
There isn’t much substance to the report in The Sun other than highlighting how his partner Jacynta has left Celtic for Sporting Lisbon.
In other circumstances the story could be dismissed as putting two and two together but the reporter, David Friel has a track record for being fairly close to the decision makers inside Celtic Park.
In February 2021 The Sun reporter was first to break the news that Neil Lennon was leaving Celtic– 10 hours ahead of the Stock Market announcement.
It is highly doubtful if anyone other than Lennon, his agent, Peter Lawwell, Dermot Desmond and Celtic’s Head of HR were aware of that development two days on from the defeat to Ross County.
Starfelt was one of Ange Postecoglou’s first signings in July 2021, being pitched into his debut at Tynecastle as the hoops got off to a losing start under their new regime.
There were more difficult times ahead but the arrival of Cameron Carter-Vickers at the end of the summer transfer window brought stability and assurance to the hoops defence as they set off on a long unbeaten run that led to reclaiming the SPFL title.
The Sun reports:
CARL STARFELT could be set for a shock Celtic exit.
SunSport understands that Hoops chiefs are braced for bids amid mounting interest in the Swedish defender.
Starfelt has two years left on his Parkhead deal — but is weighing up his future.
The 28-year-old joined Celtic from Rubin Kazan in 2021 in a £4million deal.
He played a key role in back-to-back titles under previous boss Ange Postecoglou. His partner, former Celtic women’s player Jacynta, recently joined Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
Starfelt missed the 1-1 draw with Wolves in Dublin last weekend through injury — but played 45 minutes against Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday and trained as normal ahead of the Premiership opener this Saturday against Ross County.
The Swede is halfway through his four year deal at Celtic but the arrival of Maik Nawrocki leaves Brendan Rodgers fairly well covered although he’d prefer to have three current internationalists competing for two places than just two.
Celtic staged their media activities today meaning that Rodgers can’t be questioned about the former Rubin defender until Saturday’s match against Ross County.
Starfelt went through his first season at Celtic without injury but picked up a knock on international duty last June that meant that he missed the start of the 22/23 season.
Postecoglou signed Moritz Jenz on loan from Lorient but once Starfelt had fully recovered he resumed his partnership with Carter-Vickers. When Yuki Kobayashi was signed in January Celtic cut short the loan deal on Jenz.
The partnership between Starfelt and Carter-Vickers served Celtic well through the spring as they claimed the Viaplay Cup and took command in the race for the SPFL Title.
At Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final in April they played together for the last time in the 22/23 season with the former Spurs man undergoing knee surgery soon after the Hampden success.
Celtic were probably expecting two players to be sold during the summer window but with so many injuries at the back selling Starfelt would be a calculated gamble with the Champions League just seven weeks away.
