Celtic have been handed some good news as they seek to strengthen their squad this summer.
There has not been much in the name of good news when it comes to Celtic's transfer activity so far this summer. The fans had been hoping that the club would have taken some lessons from the failures of the previous campaign and look to make improvements.
Until this point though, it looks like the club are happy to walk on the same path once again. There has not been much in the name of urgency, ambition or efficiency.
They seem to be continuing to look towards the same markets as well, even though the results for several years, if you take out the two-year Ange Postecoglou era, has been far from satisfactory.
That does not mean that some high-potential talents are not being linked with Celtic. In fact, there is some good news regarding one such player after it had looked like the Hoops had missed out.
Celtic back in race to sign €5 million-rated goalkeeper
Celtic will need to strengthen between the posts in this upcoming summer transfer window. Kasper Schmeichel has retired and there are question marks over whether Viljami Sinisalo is good enough to be the long-term answer in goal.
One highly-rated talent Celtic have been linked with recently is Hertha Berlin goalkeeper Tjark Ernst. But it had looked like they had missed out on him, as reports broke out suggesting a deal had already been agreed with Wolfsburg. Fortunately, it looks like that is not the case.
According to Florian Plettenberg, Wolfsburg are still working on a deal for Ernst. Contrary to reports, there is no agreement at this stage.
The 23-year-old German goalkeeper has a €5 million release clause in his Hertha BSC contract. He is expected to leave.
Why Tjark Ernst would be a good signing for the Hoops
Unsurprisingly, many have raised their eyebrows at the idea of signing a goalkeeper from the second division of German football. The doubts are understandable.
That being said, talent can be found anywhere. Let's not forget that Matt O'Riley was brought in from the third division of the English pyramid. A couple of years down the line, he was fetching a Scottish record transfer fee.
The data suggests that Ernst is a quality goalkeeper. He prevented more than 8 goals just in the league last season when taking his xGOT faced into consideration.
In contrast, Sinisalo underperformed his xGOT and gave away more goals than he should have statistically.
Of course, just because a deal has not been agreed with Wolfsburg does not mean that Ernst will join Celtic this summer. But at least it keeps the Hoops in the race, which is better than what the situation had looked like yesterday.
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