“Celtic Eyes Moldovan Amid Goalkeeper Search as Atletico Stint Stalls”
HORATIU MOLDOVAN is back in Celtic’s sights as the goalkeeper seeks to revive his career after being sidelined at Atletico Madrid.
The 26-year-old was heavily linked with Celtic in January while playing for Rapid Bucharest, but he chose to move to the Spanish capital instead, despite interest from Basel, Ludogorets, Real Betis, and Sevilla.
However, Moldovan’s aspirations of replacing Jan Oblak in goal have been thwarted, with the Slovenian playing every match since Moldovan’s arrival.
Moldovan has voiced his dissatisfaction with the situation, stating clearly that he wants to leave Madrid as soon as possible.
Celtic, urgently looking to replace Joe Hart after his retirement, could provide an exit strategy, with unconfirmed reports from Spain suggesting that a bid has already been made.
Moldovan seems to have strained his relationship with Diego Simeone, particularly after his remarks on a podcast before the Euros, where he declared:
“I want to leave Atletico Madrid in the summer or winter. I don’t know if I’ll leave now. It depends on what opportunities arise. But I definitely want to leave and play. If a good team from a big league presents itself to me, then I want to go.”
“We’ll see what offers come up. You can’t turn down the opportunity to play for Atletico. But I want to be on the field.”
Moldovan was a member of the Romanian squad that made it to the last 16 in Germany but did not play, serving as a backup to the veteran Florin Nita.
Brendan Rodgers has recently been linked with Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka and Peter Vindahl Jensen of Sparta Prague.
Celtic will play Queen’s Park in a friendly at The City Stadium on Wednesday before heading to the USA to face D.C. United, Manchester City, and Chelsea.