Celtic Target Yves Bissouma for Midfield Reinforcement

Celtic have turned their attention to free agent Yves Bissouma as Martin O’Neill searches for a midfield anchor to stiffen his side after their Champions League collapse.

The former Tottenham and Brighton midfielder, 29, is without a club after leaving Spurs, putting him on the market without a transfer fee and instantly on the radar of clubs looking for proven top-level experience. Celtic are one of them.

Midfield rebuild after LASK shock

O’Neill’s need is obvious. Celtic’s exit to LASK in Austria exposed a glaring weakness in the middle of the pitch. When the pressure rose, Celtic’s midfield shrank. They struggled to keep the ball, struggled to win it back, and never truly imposed themselves as the tie slipped away.

Bissouma’s profile fits that problem almost perfectly. Across several seasons in the Premier League, he built a reputation as a ball-winner who relishes contact, presses aggressively, and can carry the ball through traffic. He breaks up play, then drives his team up the pitch. It is exactly the sort of presence Celtic lacked in that bruising European defeat.

A crowded race for Bissouma

Celtic, though, are not circling alone.

Journalist Lassana Camara reports that the Glasgow club are “closely following” Bissouma’s situation, but they face serious competition from Ajax and İstanbul Başakşehir. According to Camara, Ajax Amsterdam have entered the race and have already expressed interest in taking the Mali international to the Netherlands.

İstanbul Başakşehir FK are also tracking the midfielder, viewing him as a potential pillar in the centre of their side. Three clubs. One free agent with Champions League and Premier League experience. The stakes are obvious.

Camara notes that, after several seasons in England’s top flight, Bissouma is now weighing up a new challenge in Europe as the transfer window ticks towards its close. The next few hours, he suggests, could be decisive in determining where the Malian plays his football next.

For Celtic, still smarting from that LASK defeat and searching for authority in midfield, the question is simple: can they convince Bissouma that his next European chapter should be written in Glasgow?