Celtic head into the upcoming summer transfer window knowing that they will need to dip into the market to land a new long-term number one at Parkhead.
Veteran goalkeeper Joe Hart departed the club last month and retired from professional football after an excellent three-year stint with the Hoops in Glasgow.
He won the Scottish Premiership title in all three of his seasons with the club and won the domestic double, of the title and the SFA Cup, in his final campaign at Paradise.
Brendan Rodgers must now bring in a replacement for the former Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur titan and is reportedly eyeing up a multi-million pound signing to start the window perfectly.
Celtic’s interest in £4m+ star
Football Scotland recently reported that the Scottish giants have been in talks with Czech side Sparta Prague over a deal to sign goalkeeper Peter Vindahl Jensen this summer.
The outlet claimed that the Danish shot-stopper is at the top of their shortlist of candidates to come in and replace Hart between the sticks at Parkhead.
It also stated, however, that Sparta do not want to lose their goalkeeper, who just signed on a permanent deal from AZ Alkmaar after a loan spell this season.
Football Scotland reported that the ‘feeling’ is that they are set to demand a fee in excess of £4m, but it remains to be seen how much Celtic are prepared to pay for him.
The article added that Jensen is known for being good with his feet and likes to throw the ball out quickly to start attacks, which means that he would suit the way that Rodgers wants his goalkeepers to play.
Former Premiership goalkeeper Tomas Cerny backed that up by telling the Celtic Way that the Sparta star’s style “suits” the Northern Irish head coach.
Why Peter Jensen would be a perfect start to the window
Rodgers could start the transfer window, which opens later this month, perfectly by securing a deal to sign Jensen from Sparta over the coming weeks.
Firstly, the 26-year-old colossus seemingly suits the way that the manager wants to play, according to Football Scotland and Cerny, which means that there should not be any issues with his performances in possession.
Jensen could also be a perfect signing to open up a summer of incoming business due to his potential to be an upgrade on Hart for the Scottish giants.
|
23/24 season |
Peter Vindahl Jensen (1.Liga) |
Joe Hart (Premiership) |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
33 |
37 |
|
Sofascore rating |
7.12 |
6.85 |
|
Save success rate |
76% |
68% |
|
Run-out success rate |
100% |
85% |
|
Duel success rate |
81% |
77% |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, the Danish titan outperformed the former England international in a number of key goalkeeping metrics at league level this term.
He saved a far higher percentage of the shots on his goal and was significantly more efficient in his sweeping and duel actions to prevent opposition players from getting more efforts away.
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The Hoops target is reportedly desperate to make a move back to Parkhead this summer.
Therefore, Jensen, who is also 11 years younger than Hart, could be a phenomenal signing and upgrade for Celtic who could be their number one for many, many, more years to come, which is why Rodgers could start the window perfectly with a £4m+ deal for him.