Erik staying put
Britain Football Soccer - Aberdeen v Celtic - Scottish League Cup Final - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland - 27/11/16 Celtic's Erik Sviatchenko celebrates winning the final Reuters / Russell Cheyne Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Erik Sviatchenko doesn’t expect to be leaving Celtic today.
The Danish defender has been out injured since the start of the month but that hasn’t prevented him from being linked with a move away from Celtic.
FC Copenhagen have been keen to strike a deal with Lazio, Fiorentina and Leicester all credited with an interest in the 25-year-old.
Sviatchenko is currently in Denmark and told BT: “I expect to stay at Celtic. Here I will remain third choice in central defence but it may change when I come back. Now it’s about getting as strong as possible so I can join in an exciting and busy autumn season with the Champions League and many important matches.”
Celtic have been linked with a number of central defenders over the last couple of weeks but with no one signed up there was no prospect of Sviatchenko being sold.
There seems to be a lot of confusion over how long he will be out of action for with one report in Denmark recently claiming that he could be out for another two months.
As things stand Celtic look like starting their Champions League campaign with Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata as their first choice central defenders.
The hoops are expected to complete a season long loan deal for Paris St Germain striker Odsonne Edouard later today.