Hello Boli! New Bhoy checks in
BELGIAN left-back Boli BolingoliMbombo last night sealed his £3million move to Celtic — as Arsenal prepared to go to war with Napoli over Kieran Tierney. The 24-year-old arrived in Glasgow to undergo a medical and duly signed a four-year deal after being allowed to leave Rapid Vienna’s training camp. He is Celtic’s third signing of the summer today following the captures of Christopher Jullien and Luca Connell. The Bolingoli-Mbombo deal appears to pave the way for Tierney’s departure, with Celtic manager Neil Lennon admitting the player is ‘unsettled’ by the ongoing speculation. Arsenal have already failed in their one and only bid of £15m for the player — with Celtic adamant they won’t sanction any deal less than £25m. With the Gunners yet to return to the negotiating table, Napoli boss
Carlo Ancelotti is hopeful of stealing a march on them — having been given encouragement that Tierney is willing to move to Serie A. This appears to have awoken the north London club from their slumbers, though, with the likely departure of Nacho Monreal to Real Sociedad increasing the need to find a readymade replacement for their defence. With both clubs equally keen to sign the Scotland international, Celtic appear to have every chance of smashing the £20m fee they received for Moussa Dembele from Lyon last August. Lennon’s squad travel to face FK Sarajevo in their opening Champions League qualifier on Tuesday. Vakoun Issouf Bayo is giving cause for concern after missing the 0-0 draw with St Gallen due to a hamstring issue which requires further examination. ‘He felt his hamstring in training the other day,’ explained Lennon. ‘There was a little bit of tightness there, so he will have a scan on Thursday in Glasgow to see if there is any extra damage or not.’ Celtic have yet to hear whether Jozo Simunovic may face a domestic suspension after being sent off in Tuesday’s goalless draw against Swiss side St Gallen. The VAR-awarded red card for a high boot on Boris Babic is set to be reported by the Swiss FA to their Scottish counterparts. Theoretically, Simunovic could be suspended in the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership for serious foul play, although the rule of thumb in such matters is that a penalty like that is only usually imposed in instances of violent conduct. ‘It’s a good job we’ve got (Christopher) Jullien in the building,’ added Lennon. ‘Obviously we’ve got Jack Hendry as well, who can come into our thinking. So we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. Certainly, since I’ve come back to the club, Jozo has been very, very good. He’s been great.’ Lennon expressed sympathy for his former manager at Parkhead Martin O’Neill, who was sacked after just five months at Nottingham Forest and swiftly replaced by former France international Sabri Lamouchi. But the current Celtic boss distanced himself from speculation that the 67-year-old could return to Glasgow in a coaching capacity. ‘I was very surprised,’ admitted Lennon. ‘I don’t know where that came from but it just shows you the rapidity of it all as there was already a coach in place 20 minutes later. ‘Something about that doesn’t sit right with me. A player revolt can be an easy excuse. I’m not aware of any evidence of that whatsoever. ‘I hope he gets back in. He’s still got plenty to offer, he’s only in his mid-60s and you know what I think of him as a manager. ‘It’s whether he fancies it. Come back here? I think he’s fed up telling me what to do. He’s been doing it for 25 years! ‘That would be an interesting one but it’s not on the horizon at the minute.’
l PREMIER Sports have secured the rights to show live coverage of Celtic’s first leg against FK Sarajevo next Tuesday.