Despite social media links, a Celtic £3.5m move for West Ham midfielder is unlikely | OneFootball

Celtic are being linked with a surprise move for West Ham United midfielder Andy Irving. The Scottish midfielder is said to be available for transfer by The Hammers, who are eager to rebuild in the image of new manager Graham Potter.

According to a prominent West Ham social media account, West Ham Central, West Ham are believed to have rejected a bid from Celtic for the player. The tweet reveals that a £2.2m bid was rejected by the Premier League side but that a bid worth £3.5m would entice Potter to sell the ex-Hearts player.

Ewan Henderson of Celtic holds off Andy Irving of Hearts during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on May 19, 2019. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

The account has over 100k followers on Twitter but the reporting has to be taken with a dose of salt. Celtic have been linked with Irving before but there was nothing more than interest. The Edinburgh-born midfielder has enjoyed a nomadic career, playing in the German third division before going to Austrian Bundesliga then landing at West Ham. Irving has made 11 appearances for the East London side but earned a Scotland cap earlier this year as a result of his breakthrough into the first team.

There is no escaping that he has the profile to excite the club’s hierarchy, especially with UEFA squad regulations to take into account. However, Celtic are very well stocked in the midfield area with skipper Callum McGregor, maverick Reo Hatate, new signing Benji Nygren, Belgian Internationalist Arne Engels, dependable Luke McCowan and Portugal U21 skipper Paulo Bernardo. Celtic’s depth in the midfield role meant that Bernardo has been an unused substitute in Celtic’s opening two fixtures. There is an argument that given his involvement in the Euros over the summer then the manager may be easing the ex-Benfica man back into domestic affairs with Celtic.

It feels extremely unlikely that Celtic are interested in Irving and we should mark this one down as not happening unless someone is on the move.