Celtic FC Opinion: Why Celtic should beat Rangers to sign Tomas Kalas
According to the Daily Record, Celtic are in pole position to land Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas next summer, with Hoops boss Neil Lennon weighing up a move for the 25-year-old Chelsea centre-back.
The same report claims that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is also keen on bolstering his backline in the summer and has lined up Kalas as a potential option.
The Czech Republic international, who is rated at £5 million by Chelsea, has impressed on loan at Championship outfit Bristol City this season, making a total of 27 appearances in the league to keep the Robins in the race for a place in the playoffs.
Having made his move to the Stamford Bridge from Czech club Sigma Olomouc back in 2010, Kalas is currently Chelsea’s longest-serving player but he has only made four first-team appearances for the Blues till date.
The 25-year-old is currently out on his seventh loan spell, having previously had stints at Middlesbrough, Fulham, Vitesse Arnhem, FC Koln and his former club Sigma.
To put things into perspective, Kalas, with his bagful of experience at the club and international level, would be an ideal signing for Celtic next summer.
The Hoops currently sit atop the Scottish Premiership standings and boast of the best defensive record in the division, having shipped a miserly 16 goals in 29 league games so far.
However, they would need to dip into the transfer window next summer to replace some of their existing options at the back.
Dedryck Boyata is out of contract at the end of the season while Filip Benkovic and Jeremy Toljan are expected to return to their parent clubs Leicester City and Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
The departure of central defenders Boyata and Benkovic, as well as full-backs Cristian Gamboa and Mikael Lustig, would render Neil Lennon short of cover at the back and Kalas would certainly be a welcome addition.
A tall and powerful centre-back, Kalas is known for his astute positioning, game-reading ability, aerial prowess and physicality as a defender.
To add to that, he also boasts of a good range of passing, both short and long, which allows him to play out from the back comfortably and set up attacks from the back.
Noted for his high levels of concentration and composure, he often stays back and clears the ball out of defence to ensure safety for his team.
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Kalas has already shown enough promise on his loan spells and the prospect of settling down at Parkhead and playing European football should appeal to the player.
A move definitely seems likely to happen, and that said, Celtic should not hesitate to invest in the Czech international next summer.
