André Almeida moves up Celta shortlist as club weigh three deals | OneFootball

With one week until La Liga kicks off, Celta want their fifth summer signing in place. According to AS, André Almeida has moved ahead of Zeballos, with Couhaib Driouech also under consideration. All three deals are active, none is at the final stage.

After the Portuguese turned down Swansea to wait for Celta, the club opened talks with Valencia. There is no formal bid yet, and Valencia had agreed a €3.5 million plus add-ons deal with Swansea. That figure is viewed as the baseline to sanction his exit to Vigo, a little over 100 kilometres from his Guimaraes home.

Almeida’s case has advanced for two reasons. He is intent on working under Giráldez, and his refusal to join Swansea underlines that. He can cover the double pivot and the flank, similar to how Fer López operated last season.

Ilaix Moriba and Matías Vecino are on the exit ramp, so bringing in Almeida would not block that area and could free Celta to chase a more natural winger late in the window. Neither travelled to the mini tour in Italy. Moriba was disciplined by Giráldez for indiscipline, while Vecino, a technical discard, used the time to visit Barcelona for his annual post-2020 knee check.

Driouech, the PSV winger, completes the shortlist. Rangers are among the clubs in the race, and PSV want about €8 million. Celta could explore a loan with an option to buy.

Source: AS

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