Leeds United are pressing ahead with their transfer plans for their return to the Premier League, and three Celtic players are in their sights.
The Whites will head to the top flight of English football alongside Burnley, with both clubs needing to strengthen their squads if they want to be competitive, given what we have seen with Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City this past season.
Even though it is not known whether Daniel Farke will keep his job or not, United need to look into transfers sooner rather than later, and they could be heading north of the border to land a player or two – or even three.
Celtic trio on Leeds United transfer radar
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, via TBR Football, a handful of players from Scottish Premiership champions Celtic are wanted by Leeds this summer, although it will be difficult to prise them all away from Parkhead.
Centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, winger Nicolas Kuhn and striker Daizen Maeda are all on Leeds’ transfer watch-list as they weigh up additions to their squad for next season, with all three impressing under Brendan Rodgers this season.
Carter-Vickers has been a key player in Celtic’s defence since his 2021 move from Tottenham, with the 27-year-old appearing 41 times in all competitions so far as we head towards the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Further up the pitch, German winger Kuhn has been one of the most exciting talents for some time at Celtic Park, hitting the back of the net 20 times and notching a further 13 assists from his 47 appearances – the 25-year-old has been linked to Leeds already in 2025 and their interest appears to be a constant.
Maeda however has been the talisman for Celtic, stepping up to the plate in the wake of Kyogo’s January departure to Stade Rennais.
The lightening quick Japanese attacker has scored 33 times from his 47 matches played, which include 16 Premiership strikes and four in the Champions League, but the 27-year-old is now a target for Leeds, along with his two team-mates.
Leeds United will find it difficult to raid Celtic for Kuhn, Maeda or Carter-Vickers
The pull of the Premier League is always a tempting one, but Leeds won’t have it easy if they go for a Celtic player – or all three for that matter.
There is a lot more money in the top flight of English football than there is in Scotland, but Celtic can offer Champions League football, and for some players that is more important.
We’ve seen over the years though that the likes of Virgil van Dijk have made the move down south when he joined Southampton from Celtic back in 2015, although they were an established Premier League club of four years when that happened – Leeds is more of a risk, given they’re just coming back up and will need to rebuild.
Leeds United are monitoring AZ attacker Troy Parrott as they look to strengthen their squad following promotion to the Premier League.
It won’t be impossible for Leeds to make at least one signing from Celtic this summer, but they will have their work cut out – and it won’t be cheap at all.
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