Annual Celtic target Scott McKenna set to join Dinamo Zagreb

McKenna, now 28 and with experience from the English Premier League and La Liga, appears set for a fresh start in Eastern Europe with Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.

Following the relegation of Las Palmas, McKenna is now a free agent – but not for long it would appear.

Reports from Croatia suggest Dinamo are closing in on the Scotland international, who would become their 12th signing of what is shaping up to be an aggressive summer rebuild.

They’ve already splashed €12 million on reinforcements as they look to recover from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign, and McKenna’s arrival would bring a wealth of experience and composure to their backline.

‘Dinamo Zagreb are continuing their aggressive summer rebuild, with the Croatian giants now targeting Scott McKenna, a 28-year-old Scottish international with experience in the Premier League, La Liga, and the Scottish Premiership.

The defender is currently a free agent after leaving Nottingham Forest, where he played 106 matches. He also featured for Aberdeen (118 appearances) and most recently spent a loan spell with Las Palmas, making 31 appearances in La Liga.

McKenna debuted for Scotland in 2018 and has since earned 42 international caps and scored once. His arrival would be a major boost to Dinamo’s backline, bringing experience and leadership to a squad undergoing significant change.

If signed, McKenna would become Dinamo’s 12th reinforcement this summer. The Zagreb side has already invested €12 million into new arrivals, determined to bounce back from last season’s underwhelming performance.’

For Celtic fans, it’s another chapter closed in a transfer tale that’s lasted for years – with McKenna continually linked but never seeming to quite make it to the club.

Celtic have however been linked with another left sided central defender in recent days as we reported earlier in the week on The Celtic Star.

Justin de Haas is a 6ft 4in Dutch defender currently plying his trade at Famalicão in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. At 25, de Haas has already built-up solid experience, having featured previously in the Netherlands and Croatia before his move to Portugal.

While no formal offer has been made at the time of writing, the club’s recruitment team have reportedly flagged de Haas as a potential fit for Brendan Rodgers’ defensive setup. His age, physical profile, certainly seems a good fit for Celtic, so it will be interesting to see if this story picks up over the next few days.

However, it seems Scott McKenna may be heading to Zagreb rather than Glasgow – for this transfer window at least!

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