Sevilla appear to be close to signing Dominik Livakovic from Dinamo Zagreb.
Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports tweeted about Celtic’s interest in the Croatian goalkeeper on July 14 but very quickly Fenerbahce were on the scene.
A deal appeared to be all done and dusted but as the days passed it was clear that there was a snag or two, confirmed last week when Livakovic turned out for Dinamo in their 4-0 home win over Astana in a Champions League qualifier.
Celtic are in the market for a goalkeeper this summer.
It’s understood one target being monitored closely is Croatia & Dinamo Zagreb No1 Dominik Livakovic, who has a year left on his contract.
Fiorentina’s interest has cooled recently. Villarreal & Fenerbahce are also keen. pic.twitter.com/8PzH4sgS0C
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) July 14, 2023
It seems that the fault lines have intensified with Fenerbahce matching the 10m euro get-out clause but with 8m up front and 2m on bonuses.
Rather than accept that Dinamo have their eye on Livakovic helping them pick up £25m from reaching the Champions League group stages- or maybe £12m less by reaching the Europa League through the Champions League Play-Off.
If Dinamo get past Astana in their Champions League Second Round tie they face AEK Athens in the next round with £5m on offer for reaching the Play-Off stage.
Sevilla have a place already booked in the Champions League group stage, are prepared to pay the 10m euros up front AND are content for Livakovic to play until the Third Qualifying Round.
Croatian site Sportske Novosti reports:
Sevilla is looking for a successor to Yassine Bounou, who is facing an increasingly certain transfer to Bayern, and the choice fell on Dominik Livaković .
The Andalusian club has reportedly already sent Maksimir a ten million euro “heavy” offer for the Croatian national team unit. Let us remind you that, according to some sources, Livaković was already on the verge of a transfer to the Turkish Fenerbahce, which sees him as a long-term option at their door. However, from Dinamo they have a clear goal – to keep the staff players at least until the second leg of the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League, which will be played in two weeks.
Fenerbahce offered Dinamo 8 million euros fixed plus 2 through bonuses, and Maksimir will not be able to refuse this offer. If it is true that Sevilla offered a fixed 10 million, so is the exit clause in Livaković’s contract with Dinamo. Therefore, whoever offers a fixed “ten” has the right to immediately enter into negotiations regarding personal conditions with the player himself.
It remains to be seen how the Dinamo and Fire goalkeeper will react, whether the talk with Sevilla is realistic and whether Dinamo will be able to keep him for another fifteen days…
Celtic’s goalkeeping situation is fairly unique with undisputed first choice Joe Hart in the final year of the three year deal that he signed arriving from Spurs.
Ben Siegrist and Scott Bain both got 45 minutes last night against Athletic Bilbao but neither posed any real threat to the former England keeper who played in 37 out of 38 of last season’s SPFL matches.
It remains unclear exactly what Brendan Rodgers looks for in a goalkeeper. In 2016 he inherited Craig Gordon, brought in Dorus de Vries then brought Gordon back in after five matches from the Dutchman.
Gordon’s form prompted interest from Chelsea before he signed a new Celtic contract but in Rodgers’ final two months in charge he replaced Gordon with Scott Bain.
At Leicester City he found Kasper Schmeichel as their first choice and kept with the Dane until last summer when he moved to Nice.
Last season Danny Ward played 26 EPL matches as Leicester were relegated with Daniel Iversen starting the other 12.
CLICK HERE for Livakovic’s Transfermarkt profile.
Dominik Livaković to Fenerbahçe, here we go! Deal sealed between clubs with Dinamo Zagreb for €9m 🟡🔵🇭🇷
Personal terms agreed, just waiting to exchange documents then deal done.
🆕🛩️ Becão arrives today in Istanbul to sign the contract while Dušan Tadic is already there. pic.twitter.com/kKH5Bh8K2O
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 16, 2023
