Celtic could make second bid for striker Henry Onyekuru

CELTIC were last night pondering whether to go in with a second bid for Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru.

The Hoops tried to land the 19-year-old from Belgian club KAS Eupen after being impressed by his record in the Jupiler Pro League this season.

In just 22 games, he has scored 10 and provided six assists.

That is a record which has prompted interest from several big clubs, including German outfits Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig, as well as Russian champions CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce of Turkey.

And it was enough to prompt Brendan Rodgers, who has already bought Ivorian midfielder Kouassi Eboue from Krasnodar in the January window, to make a bid.

However Celtic were told the player – owned by Qatari youth set-up, Aspire – is not currently for sale by the organisation’s director general, Ivan Bravo.

But with the player himself nothing if not upbeat in his quotes about the Hoops’ interest, they could go back in again.

“A lot of teams have shown interest to sign me – from France, Germany and Turkey,” ” said Onyekuru.

“Celtic are interested in me and they have tabled an official bid.

“There are discussions between the clubs and my agent.

“I believe everything will be sorted out soon.”

Eboue was Celtic’s first signing during the January transfer window, with manager Brendan Rodgers clinching his £2.5 million transfer.

He was recently handed his first Ivory Coast call-up, but has yet to make his international debut.

The Hoops manager has gone on record about his belief about the value offered by signing African players.

“There are certain markets you can bring players in from to help Celtic and Scottish football, and Africa has always been that,” he said.

“It’s always been a market where you find players who are hungry. Kolo Toure is the perfect example.

“You only need to look at Kolo’s academy in the Ivory Coast to see the likes of Gervinho, Kolo, Yaya, Sissoko coming through – big talents.

“Then there is Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast and Senegal. In western Africa they have big talent.”