Celtic look to have all but completed the signing of German International full back Andreas Hinkel and look set to unveil the player at a press conference today. The player has agreed personal terms with the club after Celtic reached the upper limits of the wage structure in order to secure the highly rated Sevilla defender.
The deal looked dead in the water last week with the player stating that he wished to return to his native land. A combination of a much improved offer from Celtic and Borussia Dortmund stalling over the deal led to Celtic becoming firm favourites to get the player signed.
The only stumbling block remaining is the nature of the instalments Celtic will pay the Spanish side. Sevilla are believed to have a very specific non-negotiable payment frequency that Celtic will be required to comply with.
An insider at Sevilla said last night: "There is no question of this deal not being completed.
"The differences between the clubs are very minor and that is because Sevilla have a very unusual way of structuring these payments.
"An agreement is only hours away and if all goes to plan Hinkel could be in Glasgow tomorrow."
With the news that Brazilian full back Coelho is also due to arrive in Glasgow in the next day or two it would appear that Celtic are tackling lack of cover in the full back positions in a more diligent manner than we experienced in the summer. Lets hope that it is a timely intervention and not too little too late!
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt