West Ham United may face competition from Celtic for Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis, with several clubs lining up to take him in the summer.
That’s according to Calciomercato, who cover the player today and how Brendan Rodgers’ side may be in the mix to try and bring him to Celtic Park.
They explain that Lazio are eyeing a move for Ioannidis as they plan an overhaul of their forward line in the summer transfer window following the departure of Maurizio Sarri.
He’s one of the names they’re looking at, but they know they face competition for his signature, with a growing list of suitors in the mix.
Bologna, Stuttgart, Sevilla, Eintracht Frankfurt, West Ham and Celtic are all ‘on’ the player, who is valued at €15m by the Greek side. They’re hoping for an auction to push that up, though.
They’ve all been attracted to the striker thanks to his tally of 21 goals and seven assists in all competition this season.
He had been looked at last summer thanks to his deal expiring at the time, but he instead showed loyalty to his club and extended his deal until 2027, on the basis he would leave this year instead.
Celtic and West Ham are both in the mix, having watched him shine in the Premier League and Europa League and seemingly become convinced that he’d be an ideal addition.
The former’s interest isn’t hard to work out given Kyogo Furuhashi is their top goal scorer with 15 goals this season and Matt O’Riley is behind him with 12.
Brendan Rodgers side could do with an other striker and Ioannidis would fit the bill.
The same can be said of West Ham, who are still reliant on Michail Antonio as their main centre-forward after Gianlucca Scamacca was sent back to Italy last year.
It’s easier to see the Hammers paying the money required than those in charge at Celtic Park, but both are in the mix as far as CM are concerned.
