‘Not Gone Beyond’ – Celtic Yet To Act On Enquiry For Target | OneFootball

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Celtic have not yet gone beyond an enquiry for former Hearts defender James Penrice, who is on the books at Greek giants AEK Athens.

The Bhoys are moving to make signings this summer though have already been criticised for the slow pace of their recruitment.

Attacker Camillo Duran is the only player through the door at Celtic Park so far and, despite his arrival being hailed as a coup, the Bhoys will need to step on the accelerator.

An agreement on personal terms has been reached with Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur, but Celtic still need to sort out a fee with the German club.

Former Hearts left-back Penrice is someone Celtic have been heavily linked with this summer.

However, the Bhoys have not yet gone beyond an enquiry for the AEK Athens man, despite holding clear interest.

Journalist Mark Hendry wrote on X: “Celtic’s link with former Hearts defender James Penrice has not gone beyond enquiry stage.”

AEK Athens forked out £2m to sign Penrice from Hearts last summer, taking him to Greece for the next stage of his career.

Penrice finished the season having made 33 appearances for AEK Athens across all competitions, being booked on seven occasions in the process.

He was in and out of the team though and struggled to make himself an automatic pick for the Athens-based club.

Penrice has another two years left to run on his contract in the Greek capital and could be attracted towards the idea of a return to Scotland.

All eyes will be on whether Celtic do translate their enquiry into a solid bid for him soon.

The Bhoys could well lose established performer Daizen Maeda in the coming days as Premier League new boys Ipswich Town are moving to sign the Japanese.

Losing Maeda would leave a big hole in the Celtic squad and Martin O’Neill and the recruitment team will have to work hard to fill it.