According to reports from Football Scotland, Celtic are planning a raid on Premier League club Newcastle United for shot-stopper Karl Darlow.
Football Scotland understands that Celtic want the 28-year-old for a knock-down price of £3million in the summer transfer window to increase competition for places between the sticks.
Darlow made a total of 10 starts in the Premier League last season prior to the arrival of Martin Dubravaka but the former Nottingham Forest star has fallen completely out of favour at Tyneside this season.
The 28-year-old has just started a solitary game for the Magpies this season, playing the full ninety minutes in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup.
With Dubravka establishing himself as the undisputed No.1 between the sticks, Darlow is unlikely to get a look in next season as well and it is believed that Newcastle would be prepared to let him leave should they have suitable offers on the table.
A product of Nottingham Forest’s youth system, Darlow spent time on loan at Newport County and Walsall earlier in his career before rising to prominence at the City Ground.
He was snapped up by Newcastle in 2014 and made his Premier League bow in the 2015-16 season. Darlow was the club’s No.1 in the 2016-17 season when the Magpies got relegated to the Championship and he went on to play a key role in their promotion-winning campaign.
Darlow has featured sporadically for Newcastle over the course of his four-year stay in the north-east of England. The 28-year-old, however, has an impressive record, having managed 20 clean sheets from 59 appearances in all competitions.
There is nothing special about him but Darlow is a decent-enough shot-stopper and it is a pity that he hasn’t played a lot more at Newcastle. His reflexes and handling are good enough for any mid-table side in the Premier League and he needs to seek an exit from his current club to restart his career that has come to a standstill.
To put things into perspective, Karl Darlow could potentially be a very useful signing for Celtic at a reasonable price in the summer transfer window.
As a matter of fact, it would make little sense for Newcastle to keep him for another season and pay him for doing next to nothing, so Darlow moving to Parkhead is likely to present a win-win situation for all parties involved.
Celtic lost 2-0 to Rangers in the Old Firm derby on Sunday but the Hoops have all but clinched their eighth straight domestic title and a victory over Hearts in the Scottish Cup final later in the month would guarantee a third consecutive domestic treble.
The Hoops will be under pressure to sign reinforcements at right-back and centre-back in the summer, while a new striker is also likely to be in Neil Lennon’s agenda.
While they should prioritise investing in other areas of the pitch to ensure that they have all their bases covered, Celtic can certainly do with a bit more competition for places between the sticks.
Veteran Craig Gordon was the first choice earlier in the season but he has been usurped by Scott Bain, who has been pretty impressive over the last few months. However, Gordon is already 36 and given that is he out of contract in 2020, the Hoops would need to sign a quality replacement for him sooner or later.
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Darlow certainly fits the bill at Parkhead and he has the quality to challenge for the No.1 spot in due course of time.
The club’s links with Karl Darlow is unlikely to create much noise amongst the fans but, in all honesty, signing him this summer could prove to be a smart piece of business for the Hoops in the longer run.