Tony Mowbray is said to have sent scouts to watch Bosnian midfielder Senijad Ibricic in his country’s Word Cup playoff against Portugal. The Herald has reported that the Celtic manager is considering a bid for the Hajduk Split schemer but would face competition for his signature.
Ibricic was brought to Celtic’s attention by agent Rudi Vata, who was a defensive team-mate of Mowbray’s at Parkhead. The 24-year old midfielder picked up his 20th cap for Bosnia in the 1-0 defeat to Portugal. He has turned in a number of eye-catching displays in international football, scoring three goals for his country so far.
However, the Hajduk Split star did not produce one of his better performances during the first-leg playoff and failed to pick up Bruno Alves as he scored the only goal of the game.
Ibricic is considered to be one of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s rising stars and the former Under-21 captain has declared his wish to move to a bigger league. The attacking midfielder moved to Split after four years at NK Zagreb and scored 12 goals in 30 appearances in his first season.
This season, Ibricic has netted four times in 14 league games and the pacy midfielder had already begun to attract interest across the continent.
Blackburn Rovers are rumoured to be considering a move. Manager Sam Allardyce is reportedly keen to see the player paired with his former Hajduk team-mate Nikola Kalinic, who he bought for £6million in August.
Celtic could also face competition from FC Koln, who want to take the player to the Bundesliga. With Hajduk looking for a big transfer fee before allowing the player to leave, Celtic may not be able to enter a bidding war unless they move on one of their current midfielders.
Mowbray wants to see his midfield support the strikers by weighing in with more goals but already has a number of options in the middle of the park. Zheng Zhi, Scott Brown, Barry Robson and Aiden McGeady would all be competition for the Bosnian but all except Zhi have been linked with a move away from Celtic Park.
Should Celtic accept a big offer for Brown or McGeady, Mowbray could yet land the Bosnian in January ahead of the English and German clubs.
