Parkhead are in talks to sell to Celtic for £3m+

Although Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership title this season, they know that they must improve their squad when the summer transfer window opens.

They have conceded 41 goals in 38 games this term, 15 more than they did in the 2024/25 campaign, and need a win against Hearts on the final day to secure the title.

The Jam Tarts, on the other hand, conceded just 34 goals in the league and had a stronger defense than the Hoops, before losing several key defenders to injury before the final game of the season.

Cameron Carter-Vickers’ Achilles injury, which has seen him play 44 games this season, has played a major role in Celtic’s struggles on the ball.

The USA international played just 14 times in all competitions, including seven in the Premiership, and that left Martin O’Neill without a key player for most of the campaign, and his time in charge.

Celtic are in talks to sign a new defender

Celtic had to play two left-backs, Auston Trusty and Liam Scales, and that led to both defensive incompetence and set-piece play, although they still won the league.

Now, the Premiership champions are reportedly eyeing a potential star at Parkhead to balance the coach’s back.

According to Norway’s TV 2, Celtic are one of the clubs looking to sign the Sanefjord defender. Zinedin Smajlović in the next summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Hoops, Feyenoord, and Toulouse have all contacted each other to enter into negotiations regarding the transfer of the Swedish defender.

It added that the 22-year-old star is still under contract with the Eliteserien club until the summer of 2028 and that it would take around £3m or more to convince Sandefjord to cash in on him.

Now it remains to be seen if Toulouse, Celtic, or Feyenoord are willing to pay the price it will take to snap up the former Lecce defender.

Why Callum McGregor will want Celtic to sign him Zinedin Smajlović

One Hoops player the club would like to sign Smajlović, perhaps more than any other, captain Callum McGregor, because it will make his job easier.

There have been several games this season where Trusty has been booed by the Parkhead crowd because he didn’t feel comfortable going forward with the ball on his weaker right foot.

That meant McGregor had to shoulder more of the responsibility of developing the ball from back to forward because Celtic had no forward ball forwards down the right with Trusty, a left-footed player, on that side of the centre-backs.

Smajlović’s form for Sandefjord in the 2025 Eliteserien suggests he has a lot more to do than the USA international in football, as he scored twice as many key passes and ten times more successful dribbles. deep to take the ball away from the defender.

The Celtic captain wouldn’t have that problem with Smajlović, however, as the Sweden U21 international completed one dribble per game in 2025 and currently averages 1.3 dribbles completed per game in the Eliteserien in 2026.

The 22-year-old star is a naturally right-footed player who can play on the right side of the centre-back and drive the ball forward at his feet, pushing the team up, allowing the captain to take the ball up the pitch to score more goals.

McGregor has scored just two goals in the Premiership this season, after netting eight goals in the 2024/25 campaign, and that may be due to the extra work he has had to go deeper in the pitch due to having Trusty at right-back.

Therefore, the captain would like the Hoops to sign Smajlović this summer because the Swedish star could be a permanent right-footed midfielder when Celtic need to improve their play and get out in the future.