Christopher Jullien is set to complete a move away from Celtic today in order to join Bundesliga side Schalke.
And it’s been reported the transfer will be an initial loan deal with an option to buy. Jullien has struggled with injuries in recent years after a promising start to life at Parkhead. And he is now in the process of completing a medical before he signs the dotted line in Germany while Celtic step up their hunt for a new centre-back.
The 29-year-old has one year left on his deal at the Hoops and is likely to have played his last game for the champions if Schalke exercise their option to buy that football transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports is included in the deal. French pair Rennes and Lorient were also said to have an interest in Jullien, who Ange Postecoglou clearly doesn’t rate.
Jullien had hinted at a move away with a cryptic social media post from an aeroplane on Tuesday which was swiftly deleted. The former Toulouse defender returned to action in February for a brief cameo against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup but found game time extremely limited. The centre-back position now becomes an even bigger priority for Postecoglou with Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Welsh currently his only options, with Liam Scales also departing on-loan to Aberdeen for the season.
However Celtic have been handed a potential boost in their quest to replace Jullien with Manchester City's Ko Itakura on the Parkhead transfer list of possible targets this summer. The 25-year-old Japan international has been the subject of negotiations between City and Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach. However, talks between the the German giants and the Premier League champions have now broken down.
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