Braga close to agreeing £2m deal with Celtic for Lagerbielke

The big Swede never really fitted the mould at Celtic Park and shortly after arriving at the club in the summer transfer window of 2023, it was readily apparent that he wouldn’t be sticking around for long under returning manager Brendan Rodgers, who appeared less than impressed with the latest recruitment drive that summer.

In truth, it was a fruitless endeavour for everyone involved at the club and provided more harsh lessons when it comes to operating in the recruitment side of football. Luis Palma, Marco Tilio, Maik Nawrocki and Gus, amongst others, would prove a significant waste of time and valuable funds as Rodgers saw no possibility of turning them into the sort of Celtic players he required to kick on from Ange Postecoglou’s couple of trophy laden years at Paradise.

Gus was farmed out on loan to FC Twente, to get him playing and perhaps even drum up interest by placing him in the shop window for a while. It did him or the club no harm at all, as the Swedish international had a splendid temporary switch to the Eredivisie club, becoming a pivotal part of the team during their Europa League run and league campaign to boot. The Dutch side though couldn’t find the cash required for the big defender and were unable to see him return to where he played so well.

Even with that disappointing outcome, interest in Lagerbielke has been strong and many clubs have enquired about his services. That has led to SC Braga of Portugal throwing in a £1.7 million bid, which has managed to get Celtic to the negotiating table. With discussions taking place over the past couple of days, it appears we may have reached the terminus and that Gus will be moving on from Parkhead very soon.

Sky Sports News have confirmed that Celtic and Braga are close to agreeing a deal for the aforementioned Lagerbielke, and that the player himself is eager to join the Portuguese outfit. Anthony Joseph revealed tonight via X:

“UPDATE: Braga are close to agreeing a deal worth £2m for Celtic centre-back Gustaf Lagerbielke. It’s understood the Sweden international is keen to join #SCBraga, who hope to him travel over for a medical later this week.”

It’s a move that has been a long time coming for both the club and Gustaf, as it just hasn’t worked since he arrived, with the gaffer apparently unconvinced with his ability to play in his high-press system with the defence sitting further up the field.

Hopefully the Sweden star can kick on at SC Braga and prove that he is still a good player and that it was just the wrong fit for him. Likewise, Celtic can reinvest that £2 million in the squad this summer transfer window.

Best of luck to Gustaf.

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