Winger tipped to leave Hearts to join Celtic in the future

The summer transfer window is open, and all the clubs are battling for their top targets with a lot of time to negotiate a potential deal. Celtic are no exception, with a large number of players being linked to them as well.

With the most recent one coming from former Rangers winger Andrei Kanchelskis, who thinks Kazakhstani winger Islam Chesnokov's choice to join Hearts is a wise move aimed at drawing the attention of clubs such as Celtic.

The Hearts have agreed to a pre-contract with Kazakhstan international Chesnokov and are currently negotiating terms with FC Tobol to bring him in earlier than that if possible.

Chesnokov had an outstanding campaign with FC Tobol in the past season, scoring 15 goals in 34 matches in the Kazakhstan Premier League. However, it's interesting that he hasn't even arrived in the Scottish Premiership yet, and he's already being linked with a move to Celtic in the future.

Kanchelskis is now managing in the Russian second tier with Dynamo Bryansk. When asked why Chesnokov chose to transfer to Hearts rather than Russia, where there was a lot of interest in him, Kanchelskis explained (via Daily Record): "The Scottish league is quite high level and there is a lot of quality there. It's a very physical league. But the problem is this is only a league with two teams - Celtic and Rangers. And Celtic are leading by a wide margin.

"Another five or six, including Hearts, are fighting for places in the European competitions. But the main advantage for Islam Chesnokov of moving to Scotland is the opportunity to be noticed by Celtic or English clubs and eventually sign for them. This is an opportunity for progress.

"Yes, the level of the Russian Premier League is clearly higher than in Scotland, but there's no Europe for him there and no one will notice him in Russia.

"So if it was me, I would have done what Islam did and moved to Scotland too."

We couldn't agree more with Kanchelskis' assessment of Scottish football, particularly Celtic's position in it, as they indeed are currently a cut above the rest. And who doesn't want to play in European football? It's something every aspiring player dreams about.

And Celtic can offer that more than any other club in the Scottish League. Parkhead has become a logical next step for many, because of their consistent Champions League participation and reputation for nurturing talent.

However, it remains to be seen how the Hearts' target will perform in Scottish football. Who knows, if he proves his worth here, the Hoops might pursue him in the future and eventually put him in a green and white jersey.