Celtic ‘monitoring Dominik Livakovic’ as Brendan Rodgers eyes Croatia World Cup hero
CELTIC are reportedly interested in Croatia World Cup hero Dominik Livakovic this summer.
The Hoops have already signed Marco Tilio and Odin Thiago Holm but Brendan Rodgers is yet to put his stamp on the team since taking over from Ange Postecoglou.
The Celtic gaffer has a £30million war chest available to him this summer after receiving hefty backing from Hoops supremo Dermot Desmond.
And he could spend a fair chunk of his budget on a new goalkeeper, according to report.
It's claimed by Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph that Celtic are interested in the Dinamo Zagreb stopper as he enters the final year of his deal in Croatia.
Livakovic is highly-rated in his homeland and has been capped 45 times by his national team after making his senior debut in 2017.
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The 28-year-old was in the squad for the 2018 World Cup as Croatia finished runners up to France after losing 4-2 in the final.
Livakovic watched on as Danijel Subašić was No1 for that tournament before being given a starring role between the sticks in Qatar last winter.
The goalie played every minute of that campaign and even made history by becoming the third goalkeeper to save three penalties in a single World Cup shootout.
His heroics over Japan sealed their spot in the quarter-final and he went on to save another against Brazil to reach the final four.
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A defeat to Argentina then saw them crash out of the competition but Qatar still put Livakovic on the map.
He has been linked with several clubs in recent months including Manchester United, Fiorentina and Villarreal.
Now Celtic have reportedly joined the race and could battle it out for his signature.
Livakovic has a release clause of £8.8million but it's understood the Croatian giants are holding out for a higher fee and are hoping a bidding war will begin.
It could see the fee rise above £10million, meaning Celtic will need to fork out a record fee to sign him.
It's been suggested that Rodgers' priority is to replace Joe Hart between the sticks during this transfer window.
But the Northern Irishman insisted yesterday that he is no rush to get rid of the former England No1.
Discussing the goalie's future, he said: “It’s for me to assess everything but I have always liked Joe. He’s 36 but he trains so hard every day and he’s a great influence around this changing room.
“That will be really important and you can never underestimate that.
“He is undervalued in terms of what he can do with his feet. I don’t need him to be Ederson at Man City — I just need him to keep the ball out of the net.
“Then when the ball comes back to him, I just need him to play simple.
“From what I have seen so far, and from Celtic games in the past, I think he can do that.
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“So yeah, that question maybe applies for later on, but as I see Joe now, he’s been fantastic for Celtic and a great influence."
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