Celtic showed serious interest in bringing Yáser Asprilla to Celtic Park in the winter market. Martin O’Neill’s side weren’t successful as he left Girona for Galatasaray on a loan deal.
Back in January, Sport Witness relayed news that Celtic and West Ham United wanted to sign the 22-year-old.
Instead, he left for Turkey in a ‘lucrative’ deal.
The La Liga side signed the winger from Watford for around €18m and the move hasn’t worked out well.
To put it in context, he’s scored four goals and contributed two assists from 50 matches, and a goal and an assist was from this season.
Failed Celtic move highlighted
Wednesday’s edition of Sport has a report on Yáser Asprilla and points out Celtic’s interest from January.
Martin O’Neill’s side, West Ham United, Marseille and unnamed clubs from Portugal and Germany all showed keen interest in the 22-year-old.
However, the Colombia international snubbed these clubs to join Galatasaray, who made a lucrative offer. In short, money tempted him to pick the Turkish champions over Celtic and others.
Girona sanctioned a loan move with a €23m purchase clause that will become mandatory if certain set conditions are achieved.
There was excitement in Turkey with his arrival but that no longer seems to be the case. Since moving to Istanbul, he played 335 minutes from nine matches, failing to score or assist.
Manager Okan Buruk has several other options ahead of him in the attack, making it more difficult for Asprilla to enjoy regular minutes.
On April 8th, the South American picked up a knee injury in Galatasaray’s 3-1 league win over Göztepe.
Galatasaray have confirmed a knee injury but it’s unclear when he will return to action. The Turkish press has already indicated they won’t make his stay permanent.
Sport pick up on that and report that everything indicates Asprilla will return to Girona after this season.
Second chance for Celtic and West Ham?
Yáser Asprilla’s decision to pick money hasn’t quite worked out. His contract at Girona is until 2030 and his value, as per Transfermarkt, is €14m.
It’s unclear whether Celtic and the Premier League side are still keen on signing him. If they are, the two clubs could have a fresh opportunity to try and sign the Colombian in the next window.
