Plymouth Argyle closing in on transfer deal for Celtic player | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle are closing in on yet another new addition to their squad for the 2023-24 Championship season.

After demolishing League One last season with 101 points, the Pilgrims have wasted no time in being active in the transfer market and so far they've bolstered their defence with Lewis Gibson and Julio Pleguezuelo, as well as wing-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden arriving from Aston Villa on loan.

Steven Schumacher is yet to add to his midfield or attacking unit, but one area he is about to strengthen is the goalkeeping department at Home Park.

As first revealed by the Daily Record in Scotland, Celtic stopper Conor Hazard is set to join Plymouth on a permanent deal, with Argyle agreeing a six-figure fee with the Scottish Premiership champions for his services, in a deal that also includes future add-ons.

Hazard is fourth-choice currently at the Hoops, with Joe Hart, Scott Bain and Benjamin Siegrist ahead of him, hence why he is set to move on to pastures new to the south of England.

Who is Conor Hazard?

25-year-old goalkeeper Hazard has been on Celtic's books since 2014 when he arrived at Parkhead from Cliftonville in his native Northern Ireland.

Hazard was brought into the first-team squad at Celtic Park for the 2017-18 season as a backup player, but later on in that season he joined Falkirk in the second tier of Scottish football on loan.

More loan deals followed to Partick Thistle and then two stints with Dundee - all in the Scottish Championship - before Hazard finally received his Celtic debut in December 2020 in a Europa League clash against Lille.

Hazard remained a backup though and having played just seven times for the club in just over a year following his debut, he went to HJK Helsinki in January 2022 on loan for the entirety of the Finnish league season.

Featuring 39 times for HJK in all competitions, Hazard kept 14 clean sheets during his time in the Finnish capital as they romped to the Veikkausliiga title, and in the process he won the division's Goalkeeper of the Season award as well.

Hazard is not needed though at Celtic now as he has slipped down the pecking order even further, so the four-cap Northern Ireland international will test himself in England.

Plymouth goalkeeper Michael Cooper is regarded by many as one of the best young stoppers in the EFL, which has seen him linked with Premier League clubs during his career so far.

However, the 23-year-old suffered a ruptured ACL back in February and he could be out for most of 2023 still, so Plymouth need to add to their goalkeeping department in the meantime.

Callum Burton kept goal for the remainder of the 2022-23 season and he may keep his place for the time being, but Hazard will bring added competition and it won't cost that much to bring him in at all.

At the age of 25, Hazard still has plenty of years ahead of him and even though he's not fancied at Celtic, he still has European football experience from 2022 at HJK so he has a good pedigree for Plymouth to add to their squad.