Celtic are reported to be preparing a formal offer for Ryan Fraser.
The winger is badly out of favour at Newcastle, stripped of his squad number and excluded from pre-season training with the first team as a result of a previous dispute with Eddie Howe.
With two seasons left to run on a lucrative contract that was signed as a free agent the 29-year-old is in the middle of a stand off with the EPL season now underway.
Celtic wouldn’t be able to match Fraser’s current wages but could put in a decent offer alongside the prospect of first team football and a route back into the Scotland squad.
The situation seems similar to Albian Ajeti’s position at Celtic with brinkmanship likely to last until the final days of the transfer window.
Scott Wilson of the Northern Echo reports:
Fraser’s time on Tyneside is clearly at an end, despite him still having two years of his current contract to run, and Celtic are ready to make a formal approach in an attempt to take him to Parkhead.
Newcastle are unlikely to demand a significant transfer fee for the 29-year-old as they are simply keen to remove his wages from their books and draw a line under the current situation.
Celtic boss Brendan Rogers is keen to add another winger to his squad this month, with Fraser having been identified as a viable target.
Wilson is the Chief Sports Writer at the Northern Echo and unlikely to put his name against a speculative transfer flier.
Jota’s flexibility gave Ange Postecoglou options on both wings, with the former Benfica man sold in June it leaves Daizen Maeda as the only left wing option available to Brendan Rodgers.
On the right Marco Tilio and Yang Hyun-jun offer competition to Liel Abada leaving the other flank as an area in need of strengthening. On Sunday at Aberdeen Abada was replaced by Yang in the 70th minute with the substitute contributing to Matt O’Riley’s goal while Maeda played through until the final whistle.
As recently as 2019 Fraser was one of the most wanted players in the EPL producing stats comparable to Eden Hazard while at Bournemouth.
Virtually nothing has gone his way since with Lockdown, Newcastle and being reconnected with Howe sending his career into a tailspin.
Whether he has the ambition to win things and prove some points would be for Rodgers to decide on, if he has switched off and looking around for the biggest pay day or prepared to stick around on huge wages at Newcastle he would be of little use to Celtic or anyone else.
⚫️⚪️ TRANSFER LATEST: Celtic set to offer Ryan Fraser an end to his #NUFC misery – Fraser currently training with the development squad alongside Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick…https://t.co/TiWElmydGz
— Scott Wilson (@Scottwilsonecho) August 14, 2023
2 Comments
by Johnno
Could well be a possibility, but think a loan move could be more favourable to all concerned.
We still remain 1 short of Scottish players with decent experience currently for a CL squad imo.
Could potentially fill a void currently, but the question remains as to weather he could actually offer us any more than Forrest?
Would still say it would potentially be a poor replacement for Jota all the same
by Captain Swing
I tend to change my opinion on potential signings like this every two minutes…. resurrecting the career of a clearly talented guy languishing in the doldrums at a top division English club. But for every Craig Bellamy, Frank McAvennie and Ramon Vega I can think of, there is a Martin Hayes, a Shane Duffy and an Albian feckin’ Ajeti….