Why Celtic Should Try And Sign Martin Caceres This Summer
Celtic are interested in bringing Southampton defender Martin Caceres to Parkhead, but Brendan Rodgers may face competition from Leicester City and Watford.
Rodgers sees Caceres as the type of player capable of helping Celtic make it through the group stages of Champions League, though in any case, it would appear he may need reinforcements, with Jozo Simunovic heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United.
While Leicester have emerged as the main competition for Caceres’ signature, Watford have joined the chase as well, with new boss Marco Silva keen on the former Juventus centre-back. The 30-year-old is already well known to the Watford owners following his time in Italy and is of great interest to them, though they will struggle to attract top players to a club which appears to be going backwards and will be among the favourites to go down next year.
Caceres’ time at Southampton has been somewhat of a whirlwind after he only joined in February on a free transfer. Only one first team appearance though under Claude Puel has stalled his career slightly. He may not want to risk his career further by opting to stay at Southampton next season as well.
It’s generally accepted that Celtic need players of proven European quality to compliment their younger squad members in order to progress further in the Champions League, and in Caceres, they would have someone providing just that. Spells at Barcelona, Juventus and Sevilla have helped the Uruguayan rack up 30 appearances in Europe across Champions League and Europa League and so he knows his way around that scene.
Brendan Rodgers needs some battle hardened players of this type next season to ensure they are not given the run around by teams like Barcelona again, as well as to provide some learning to their undoubtedly talented younger players. They say you win nothing with kids and, while this may not hold true for Celtic domestically, their inexperience in Europe seems to be as crucial as their ability or lack thereof.
Martin Caceres can leave St Mary’s at the end of June if he wishes to and so Celtic could find themselves in another profitable position. Simunovic, if he does indeed leave, could command a fee for the club while Caceres would be free, meaning offering a high wage to the centre-back should not be a sticking point. Celtic should go for Martin Caceres.