Celtic’s hopes of landing 21-year-old surely dead after signing new deal

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Celtic appear to have missed the boat over Club America defender Edson Alvarez after he signed a contract extension with the Mexican outfit.

The Hoops were reported by Record in December to be monitoring the 21-year-old, and it was thought the Scottish champions might have made a move in January.

A move never materialised but in March, America Monumental reported Celtic were ready to battle for the player’s signature this summer.

In early April, The Scottish Sun claimed a £9 million price tag had been put on Alvarez and that Celtic had been priced out of a move.

If a move was unlikely then, it looks practically dead in the water now.

TBR’s view

With Dedryck Boyata set to leave, Alvarez would have been a brilliant replacement at Parkhead.

By all accounts the Mexico international, who impressed at last summer’s World Cup, is a highly promising defender and could soon make his mark in Europe.

His new deal with Club America will mean he’ll now be worth far more than the £9 million that was quoted last month.

Perhaps the development places extra significance on the club getting Filip Benkovic back at Parkhead next term.

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers recently opened the door for his potential return on loan (via The Daily Record).