Turkish midfielder Demir Ege Tiknaz could be Celtic first major signing this summer | OneFootball

It’s another day and another transfer story on The Celtic Star, and an exciting one at that!

Demir Ege Tiknaz of Besiktas during the Turkish Super League match between Besiktas and Alanyaspor at Tupras Park on December 21, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Seskim Photo

This time Celtic have been linked with Turkish midfielder

, with Turkish publication A Bola indicating the player, who is on loan at Rio Ave in Portugal from Turkish club Besiktas, and who have a €5m option to buy, intend to conclude that deal before looking to flip the player for double that figure.

Celtic are said to be the interested party should that happen. The article also states French club Lille are also in the mix.

‘The list of suitors for Demir Tiknaz continues to grow. After our newspaper reported interest from Lille ((France) The Ball is now in a position to announce that Celtic Glasgow (Scotland) also has the young midfielder in mind.

‘The British club has already initiated initial contacts with Rio Ave to try to understand how they can move forward with a concrete proposal, but the Rio Ave directors will only look into the matter after buying the player from Besiktas.’

Demir Ege Tiknaz of Besiktas during the Turkish Super League match between Besiktas and Alanyaspor at Tupras Park on December 21, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by SeskimPhoto

Rio Ave’s option to acquire Tiknaz from the Turkish side – worth five million euros – expires next Tuesday and once the operation is completed, they will have full negotiating power to respond to offers, which will have to be based on €10 million.

Demir Tiknaz, it should be noted, is currently serving the Turkish national team, which has two friendly matches ahead of it in this international window: against the United States of America (today, at 8:30 pm) and Mexico(in the early hours of Tuesday to Wednesday, at 1:30 am).

Celtic are likely in the market for central midfield reinforcements and if this is a genuine transfer target, his stats point to a player on an upward trajectory but one who is already producing some impressive numbers.

Tiknaz is 20 years old and is with the Turkish national team at present for upcoming games with USA and Mexico and it is likely he will gain his first international cap over the course of the next few days.

He has played as both a defensive and attacking central midfielder and is perhaps more defensively minded by choice and going by his stats, it’s his defensive abilities and passing numbers which indicate a deep lying playmaker with strong defensive output to boot.

According to FBRef Tiknaz is in the top 99 Percentile for interceptions, the top 92 Percentile for Non-Penalty goals and the top 83 percentile for blocks, as well as the top 81 Percentile for clearances. He also scores well for successful take-ons, has impressive passing completion numbers and shows up impressively for aerial duels won.

This is the first time I’ve seen Tiknaz linked with Celtic or indeed a British club at all, so there is a chance if Celtic are showing interest they may have stolen a march on any local rivals. However if Lille are interested Celtic are certainly not without competition when it comes to attracting the player to the club.

It’s early days and it looks like a few pieces would have to fall into place, but the price falls into Celtic’s range and the player on stats alone would look like a good fit for a Brendan Roders team.

This could well be an excellent acquisition for Celtic, and hopefully one very much to keep an eye on.

Niall J

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