Stefan Johansen is on his way to Galatasaray in a €2.5m deal- virtually the same price that Celtic paid Strosgodset in 2013 for the midfielder.
Talks between Celtic and Galatasaray have been going on over the last week with Turkish site Ahaber.com claiming that a deal has been agreed after Galatasaray matched Celtic’s asking price.
With less than a year left on his contract- and no meaningful talks about a new deal- it seemed to be only a matter of time before the 25-year-old moved on.
In midweek Brendan Rodgers spoke about his desire to keep Johansen- but also the reality of negotiating with a player in the final season of his contract.
The Celtic boss said: “The club has to protect itself. If a player clearly doesn’t want to be at a club and had a year to go, the market will tell you that you have to sell that player. There are very few players who will be allowed to run their contract through to a free.
“That doesn’t make any sense but, at the moment, there is nothing new to say. He’s working well and he played well. I always look at players and gauge whether they are happy and want to play for the club or not. I have only known him this last week and a half and he has been excellent.
“He has a smile on his face, enjoying being with the team, is working hard in training and I can see his qualities.”
Johansen will have a scan on the ankle injury that he picked up against Maribor yesterday but it looks like his Celtic days are over with just the fine print of his Galatasaray deal to be completed with a fee agreed between the clubs.
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