Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GO COMPPER Celtic to cash in defensive insurance policy with signing of £1m German from Red Bull
MARVIN COMPPER has been hailed as the man to bolt Celtic’s back door as the £1m German defender prepares to pen a twoand-a-half year deal at Parkhead today.
The RB Leipzig stopper arrived in Scotland yesterday and was put through his medical at the club’s Lennoxtown HQ last night.
The deal for the 32-yearold is poised to be completed and Hoops No.2 Chris Davies admitted the former Fiorentina stopper will add big game know-how in the way Kolo Toure did in his first season with the champions.
Toure managed to steer the Celts backline through the Champions League qualifiers last term after landing from Liverpool and is now part of boss Brendan Rodgers’s backroom team. Compper has been tipped to play a leading role on the pitch for Celts. Davies said: “From what I’ve seen, he is a guy who fits the profile of what we would like in a central defender. He is used to playing a high defensive line, he is technically good on the ball, athletic and fast.
“He understands the model of play we like.
“Bringing someone in with pedigree is always interesting and if it happens it will improve us a team.
“If it happens then it’s someone who’s experienced.
You need a balance in your squad rather than too much either way.
“You saw the benefits of having Kolo Toure last season, with the experience he has. We’ve got guys like Craig Gordon, Scott Brown, our captain, guys with experience.
“It’s not something we are lacking but it’s good to have that balance.
“We’re talking to him and he’s obviously arrived the country.”
Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers is looking to shore up the backline but Davies insisted the club are looking to strengthen throughout the side. He said: “Our recruitment has looked at all areas of the pitch. He’s a player being spoken about now and he’s a centre half, so it is an area we’re looking at.
“We strengthen where is needed but we share the success together at this football club. At Hampden everyone was on the podium, from the players to the kitmen.
“We’re together when we win and we are together when we suffer a set back. That’s the culture we have and the manager gets everyone together in these moments.
“That area of the pitch has been highlighted and we want to support those guys. It wasn’t just an isolated area, we could have been better all over the pitch.
“It’s difficult to say an actual number. As always in the January window we’ll be looking to add only things that we think will really improve us at that time of year.
“We’ve got a good squad, we’ve got lots of good players.
“There is certainly nothing major that needs to be done. We’ll see in January exactly what that means but there is no panic or no rush.”