Celtic appear to be very close to signing Joel van den Berg from PSV Eindhoven.
That is the view of Rik Elfrink who is regarded as a real authority on all matters regarding the Dutch club.
With over 114,000 followers on X/Twitter while following less than 1,000 accounts Elfrink, who writes for Eindhoven Dagblad is a real authority on matters OSV.
At the age of 19 most of van den Berg’s playing time is in the Dutch Second Division with Yong PSV but with a suggested fee of around £3m he isn’t coming to Scotland to play in the Lowland League West.
Described as a powerful midfielder it will be natural for fans to assume that the young Dutchman is arriving as the replacement for Arne Engels. A four year contract is ready to be signed.
While Engels was only 20 when he joined Celtic he arrived on the back of 18 months playing time in the Bundesliga with Augsburg.
Last week Martin O’Neill name checked Liam Kennedy and Sean McArdle as midfielders that he’d like to give playing time too.
If the deal for van den Berg goes through it will be another midfielder in the path of McArdle and Kennedy getting playing time.
PSV en Celtic op hoofdlijnen akkoord over de transfer van Joël van den Berg naar Schotland.
Morgen reist de 19-jarige middenvelder naar Glasgow om alles af te ronden en te keuren. Contract tot 2030 bij #Celtic ligt klaar. Stadium ijs en weder dienende inmiddels.— Rik Elfrink (@RikElfrink) August 30, 2026
TRANSLATION:
PSV and Celtic have reached a broad agreement on the transfer of Joël van den Berg to Scotland.
Tomorrow, the 19-year-old midfielder will travel to Glasgow to finalize everything and undergo his medical. Contract until 2030 with #Celtic is ready. Stadium weather permitting in the meantime.
CELTIC MIDFIELD TRANSFER ACTIVITY
So far in midfield this window Celtic have sold Engels and bought Mika Baur from Paderborn.
Even with Engels it was clear that there was a lack of physicality in that area of the team.
There is going to be an awful lot of expectation falling on a 19-year-old to come up with solutions to a problem area of the team.
Celtic have until 11pm on Wednesday to register their squad with UEFA for the Europa League.
Domestically they have until 5pm on Thursday to register players with the SFA.
During the current transfer window Celtic have signed four players.
There is likely to be a few more departures before the transfer window closes with Reo Hatate and Johnny Kenny most likely to move on.
UPDATE: Celtic have agreed a £3.4m deal to sign PSV Eindhoven midfielder Joel Van Den Berg.
It’s understood the Netherlands U19 international is due to travel to the UK tomorrow to undergo a medical and finalise the paperwork on his move.
It’s believed the Scottish champions… https://t.co/QB3nTkMym9 pic.twitter.com/y4KFexTNiR
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) August 30, 2026
The guy can turn out to be great but a failure as well, we have no idea. But he hasn’t proved himself on a higher level so it’s gonnabbe a gamble. Compare him to the Lithuanian guy Ginetis who has amassed around 100 games for Torino on Serie A level and being of a similar age, the player we have been linked with. And Mahmic who chose to be a Diomande new team partner for a newly promoted Turkish no name club.
Still no sight of a keeper, left back, right back, centre back, left winger and central midfielder.
Michael Nicholson is doing what he has been doing for the past couple of years.