Gustaf Lagerbielke played for Elfsborg today against Hammerby then spoke quite freely about his rumoured move to Celtic.
On Friday night it was reported that Celtic and Elfsborg had agreed on a £3m fee but there is clearly some work still to be done before Brendan Rodgers signs up his second central defender.
Maik Nawrocki was signed before Carl Starfelt was sold to Celta Viga with the wheels well in motion to bring in another Swede to compete for a place in central defence.
Elfsborg are sitting in top place in the Allsvenskan and included Lagerbielke in their side that lost 1-0 at Hammerby.
Next up for Elfsborg is a visit from Mjallby, the team not the defender, next Sunday but it seems likely that Lagerbiekle will be in Ayrshire as his new club take on Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup.
🇸🇪 | Gustaf Lagerbielke – Celtic
IF Elfsborg centre-back Gustaf Lagerbielke appears to confirm he will join Celtic & that he HAS played his last match for the Swedes.
Asked about joining Celtic:
“Nothing is done until you sign & that could be it.” pic.twitter.com/vdMwvQTrD1
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) August 13, 2023
Lagerbielke bekräftar Celtics intresse – kan ha varit sista matchen med Elfsborg.https://t.co/3kqt3u3fxc pic.twitter.com/2oNbaAF8f9
— Fotbollskanalen (@fotbollskanal) August 13, 2023
Fotbollskanalen reports:
According to Expressen, Celtic and Elfsborg agree on Gustaf Lagerbielke, who is bought off by the Scottish big club for around SEK 40 million. After the 0-1 loss against Hammarby, the centre-back confirmed that it may have been his last game for Elfsborg.
– Maybe. I don’t want to say anything before something is signed, but it may very well have been, he says.
What would it mean to take that step?
– Very much. A fun challenge to come to a big club in Europe and play the Champions League and hopefully win titles. So that would have been fun.
Have you spoken to their coach?
I have chosen to focus on this match. We’ll have to deal with everything else now after the match.
Are you planning to go there now?
– Haha, now I’ll see how I can answer… but I’ll fit it. You might get another answer tomorrow.
A lot of money – how do you see it?
– Nice that Elfsborg gets… or can get paid a lot. Nice that it will be… or maybe it will be good for all parties.
According to Stefan Andreasson, the clubs are not in agreement, but there are many indications that it will be.
Was it his last match?
– We’ll see, says Andreasson to the Football channel.
Do you agree with Celtic?
– No, not really.
Have you given him permission to go there next week?
– We’ll see what happens during the evening and tomorrow. But we have negotiations.
Stephen Welsh stepped in for Cameron Carter-Vickers at half time against Aberdeen today, teaming up with Nawrocki as a new look central defensive partnership.
It looks like there could be some movement in the Celtic defence as the transfer window comes to a close with a trip to Ibrox and the start of the Champions League just around the corner.
