Celtic 'patient' over Euro 2024 target despite receiving big boost from rivals

Celtic are said to be chasing a Euro 2024 star this summer, with Austrian defender Flavius Daniliuc said to be of interest. The 23-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with RB Salzburg from Serie A club Salernitana, making 11 league appearances, but he won’t be staying with his home country club.

Recent reports have claimed Salzburg have rejected the chance to keep Daniliuc full-time, and that has led to reports of interest from Celtic as the Hoops look to make their squad Champions League-ready ahead of next season. The defender is currently with Austria at Euro 2024, although he was an unused substitute for their narrow opening game loss to France on Monday night.

For that reason, and talks are likely to wait until after Austria’s participation at the competition draws to a close, and Football Scotland report that there has been no bid from Celtic up to this point. The report also claims that AFC Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham is also a possible target this summer as Brendan Rodgers looks to add a centre-back.

Daniliuc has spoken recently about the tough task Austria face at the competition, saying: "I think we have the most difficult group in the tournament. France and the Netherlands are the two big favourites, and Poland are a strong team too. Nonetheless, we are aiming to make it past the group stage and into the last 16. We are taking one step after the other at the moment, and we will see how we end up."

Asked about his move to RB Salzburg earlier in the year, the centre-back responded to claims that he had taken a step back. "I disagree with them and tell them that this is quite disrespectful to Red Bull Salzburg,” he said. “Of course, Serie A is many times bigger than the Austrian Bundesliga. Serie A has more media attention, more spectators, more stars play there. But that is not the decisive criterion by which I choose career steps. I am not a finished player yet." He added: "I would even say that it is a step forward. The ambitions of this club are incredibly high. They are no different to those embodied at Real Madrid or Bayern. You know what is outstanding about Salzburg. There is never any moaning. Salzburg loses Naby Keïta and promotes the next one. They enable Sadio Mané to take the next step and carry on. They compensate for the departures of Karim Adeyemi, Dominik Szoboszlai, Nicolas Seiwald and Erling Haaland. Salzburg makes every player better.

“And that is exactly the reason why I accepted the opportunity. The discussions with Stephan Reiter and Bernhard Seonbuchner were really good and lasting. I have everything here to get better. That is why I initially disagreed so vehemently with you about how you classified Salzburg."