Summary Celtic is closing in on a deal to sign central defender Maik Nawrocki from Legia Warsaw for around £4m. Nawrocki had an impressive season in Poland and could be an immediate upgrade on Yuki Kobayashi. Nawrocki's defensive statistics, including tackles and interceptions, suggest he would offer Celtic more quality and contribute to stopping opposition attacks.
An update has emerged on Celtic's attempts to add further reinforcements to the playing squad before the end of the summer transfer window…
What's the latest Celtic transfer news?
According to Football Scotland, Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers is closing in on a deal to sign Legia Warsaw central defender Maik Nawrocki ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The report claims that the Hoops are pursuing a swoop to sign the 22-year-old enforcer for a fee within the region of £4m, whilst they are also set to include a 15% sell-on clause for the Polish side.
However, it states that Turkish giants Galatasaray remain in the race to land the talented youngster, which could put pressure on the Bhoys to push this over the line as quickly as possible.
How good is Maik Nawrocki?
The German-born titan enjoyed an impressive campaign for Legia Warsaw throughout the 2022/23 campaign and could come in as an immediate upgrade on Yuki Kobayashi.
Celtic's Japanese centre-back arrived at the club in January from Vissel Kobe but struggled to adapt to Scottish football during his first six months in Glasgow.
The 23-year-old colossus averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.80 across six Scottish Premiership outings for Ange Postecoglou last season, which is a score that 21 of his teammates were able to beat.
Meanwhile, the Poland U21 international averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.00 across 25 Ekstraklasa matches for his current club, which would have ranked him six places higher than Kobayashi within the Hoops squad.
Nawrocki, who is proficient with both feet, made more tackles (1.3) and interceptions (1.2) per game than the ex-Yokohoma warrior, who made 0.3 and 0.7 per outing respectively for Celtic.
In fact, no Bhoys central defender managed more of either defensive intervention per clash than the Polish titan, which illustrates how impressive his work at that end of the pitch was for Legia Warsaw.
The 6 foot 1 monster also showcased his ability to dominate opposition players with a sublime duel success rate of 61% in the air.
This shows that he is able to rise above forwards to win key battles and could be a threat from set-pieces in both boxes, given that the promising talent scored four league goals – in comparison to his potential competitor's zero strikes in his last 54 league games for Kobe.
Kobayashi, however, struggled to deal with the physicality of Scottish football. He lost 64% of his aerial contests and 63% of his duels in total, which shows that the former Japan U20 international was a lightweight at the heart of the defence.
The weak centre-back was dominated by attackers instead of the other way round.
Therefore, the £4m-valued Celtic target could be a significant upgrade on Kobayashi in that aspect of the game due to his impressive display of strength in Poland last term.
Nawrocki's aforementioned defensive statistics also indicate that he would offer the Hoops more quality in terms of his ability to make vital contributions to cut out opposition attacks.
The superb battler, who was once dubbed a "revelation" by scout Jacek Kulig, is able to make tackles and interceptions to stop his goalkeeper from being worked more frequently.
Kobayashi's disappointing performances for the club this year could be one of the reasons behind Rodgers insistence on another player coming in to bolster his options in that position, with the Polish brute looking like an upgrade on paper.