Canada Star Prefers Celtic Over Rival Clubs: Why The Hoops Need To Make A Solid Bid?

Canada Star Prefers Celtic Over Rival Clubs: Why The Hoops Need To Make A Solid Bid? Celtic haven’t lodged a single formal bid. That’s the key detail buried under days of breathless headlines suggesting a deal was close. According to Michael Shearer of Celts are Here , Niko Sigur, the 22-year-old Canadian international currently at Croatian side HNK Hajduk Split, explicitly wants Celtic. Not Genk. Not Toulouse. Celtic. Belgian club KRC Genk have submitted a concrete €4 million offer. Toulouse FC are also in the picture with their own bid. Hajduk Split are ready to cash in for somewhere between €4 million and €5 million. And yet Celtic have done nothing official. The transfer sits deadlocked entirely because of Celtic’s inaction, not the player’s. Why Celtic simply can’t afford to wait any longer Sigur’s 2025/26 numbers tell you what you need to know before any opinion gets attached to them. He played 29 league games for Hajduk Split, 2,225 minutes, contributing 1 goal and 2 assists while making 35 appearances across all competitions, including 4 UEFA Conference League qualifying ties. His World Cup performances made the bigger impression. Canada head coach Jesse Marsch singled him out publicly as the team’s best player during their Round of 16 clash against Morocco. An 85% passing completion rate at a World Cup isn’t a vanity stat. That’s elite composure under pressure, the sort Celtic’s engine room desperately needs post-Arne Engels. HOUSTON, TEXAS – JULY 04: Niko Sigur #23 of Canada arrives at the stadium before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Canada and Morocco at Houston Stadium on July 04, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Engels leaving for West Ham at £22 million hurt. Alistair Johnston’s injury, ruling him out for several months after the LASK Champions League qualifying tie, compounded that entirely. Celtic now face genuine gaps in two distinct areas: central midfield dynamism and right-back cover. Sigur solves both problems. He functions credibly as a disciplined defensive midfielder and can shift out wide as an inverted right-back, providing structural cover that instantly plugs Johnston’s absence while sitting alongside Callum McGregor in the engine room. Celtic’s transfer inaction carries a real cost His weaknesses are real. Sigur’s goal contributions in Croatia were modest. He fouls too readily when isolated wide. Inside a Celtic squad that largely dominates domestically, though, those aren’t dealbreakers. He wouldn’t carry attacking responsibility; McGregor and Mika Baur handle that further forward. Hajduk Split are deliberately waiting until their European commitment concludes before making a final decision. That gives Celtic a narrow gap. A guaranteed bid of around €4.5 million, approximately £3.8 million, gets this done before Scotland’s September 3rd transfer deadline. Genk have already met Hajduk’s financial threshold at €4 million. Sitting still while a direct European rival closes the gap isn’t patience. It’s a risk Celtic’s squad depth simply cannot absorb right now.