Celtic close in on striker deal

Amido Balde is on the verge of becoming a Celtic player.

A £1.4m deal has been agreed between Celtic and Vitoria Guimaraes with talks over personal terms going well.

Last week Crystal Palace were reported to be closing in on a deal but talks have been on-going to bring the 22-year-old to Glasgow.

With one year left on his Guimaraes contract the Portuguese side are keen to do a quick deal for the striker who scored 9 goals in 27 matches last season.

Moving to Scotland shouldn’t be too much of a shock for Balde who has already played for Cercle Bruge of Belgium.

The arrival of Balde is certain to increase speculation that Gary Hooper is on his way out of Celtic.

Neil Lennon has never hidden his admiration for the former Scunthorpe striker but with a year left on his contract and no sign of agreeing a new deal the clock is ticking down on Hooper’s career at Celtic.

Replacing Hooper doesn’t seem to faze Balde who said: “I know Celtic have been in contact with my agent because they are going to lose their main striker – but I have more ability than any striker at Celtic.

“If a deal is reached when I end up playing for Celtic, the fans will be asking themselves after just a few games, ‘Gary who?’

“I think I could go on and be the best striker in Scotland – and one of the best in Europe. Celtic will obviously be playing in Europe again next season and that’s a big thing for me.

“I know they have been watching me for some time – with teams in England and Spain as well – but the important thing to me is that I sign for a team who are playing Champions League football because that is the level I believe I should be playing at.”

Celtic have also been linked with moves for Johnny Russell and Kevin Doyle but it now looks likely that Balde will be the champions first summer signing.