Despite his team walking the Scottish Premiership, Brendan Rodgers wasn’t entirely happy with the squad at his disposal in January, as Celtic were reported to be after Eupen’s Henry Onyekuru.
The 19-year-old forward was reportedly the subject of a Celtic bid during the January transfer window, which the player was keen to negotiate, yet the Belgian side had other plans.
Considering how important the Nigerian starlet has been to them this season, Eupen prevented Onyekuru from moving to Celtic Park by rejecting the club’s offer, leading to the player going on strike until the end of the transfer window.
After a string of apologies, Onyekuru returned to the Jupiler Pro League’s first-team, and helped them remain in Belgium’s top division, with dreams of a move elsewhere this summer.
Whether Celtic return with a new bid remains to be seen, but if they do, they will face more competition than they did in the winter, with Het Laatste Nieuws in Belgium reporting that both Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany and Club Brugge in Belgium are keen on the young forward.
The information came straight from Eupen’s manager, Jordi Condom, while Michel Preud’homme, Club Brugge’s manager, told RTBF he wanted Onyekuru on his team next season.
Compared to the other two sides, Brendan Rodgers does have the advantage of being able to offer players some hope of Champions League football at Celtic next season, as their Scottish Premiership win throws them directly into the competition’s second qualifying round.
This is certainly a big advantage for Celtic, and one the club are likely to use in the summer.
