Eddie Howe is reported to be considering a range of Celtic signings that includes Kevin Nisbet.
Last summer the Edinburgh side paid out £250,000 to Dunfermline for the striker who has bagged 14 goals in 28 Premiership appearances and earned a place in the Scotland squad for the March internationals, making his debut as a substitute in the 4-0 win over the Faroe Isles.
Nisbet was released by Hibs as a 15-year-old, struggled to make an impact at Partick Thistle before catching fire at Raith Rovers followed by Dunfermline and a return to Easter Road.
Discussing Celtic’s transfer prospects, The Sun reports:
Scotland hitman Nisbet, 24, is rated at £3million while 18-year-old Hickey — now with Bologna in Italy — would cost upwards of £4m.
Those fees won’t scare off Celts, though, who are preparing to bankroll a big-money spree to back Howe when he arrives.
Nisbet, who was at Celts as a kid, has a queue of admirers after a sensational debut season in the Premiership which has seen him score 18 goals. In January we revealed he had handed in a transfer request after Birmingham City had a £3.1m package rejected.
Since then Nisbet has broken into Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad and made his international debut against the Faroe Islands in March. He’s got an outside chance of being in Clarke’s Euros squad.
With Ollie McBurnie out injured Nisbet looks certain to be in the Scotland Euro squad with Leigh Griffiths and Lawrence Shankland the other contenders alongside Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes.
Celtic’s striking options for next season are wide open after the failings of the campaign that ends tomorrow at Easter Road.
With a year left to run on his contract Odsonne Edouard seems certain to be sold this summer while Celtic haven’t taken up an option to add 12 months on to Legh Griffiths’ contract.
Picking up a fee in the region of £3m for Nisbet would be a real windfall with Griffiths as a free agent an obvious replacement in the forward line.