Scottish giants Celtic FC are interested in acquiring Portland Timbers playmaker Darlington Nagbe and will host him at their UEFA Champions League match against FC Barcelona on Wednesday, according to The Scottish Sun and the Daily Mail.
The reports said that Nagbe, 26, flew into Glasgow on Tuesday and that Celtic execs will give him the VIP treatment at Wednesday’s contest against Barça. Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is reportedly interested in adding Nagbe in the January transfer window, with Celtic said to value him in the neighborhood of $2 million.
Nagbe signed a contract extension with the Timbers in March that reportedly keeps him inked through the 2019 MLS season. The second overall pick in the 2011 SuperDraft, the dynamic midfielder has 24 goals and 25 assists in 187 career regular-season appearances. He recorded one goal and five assists in 27 matches for the Timbers in 2016.
Born in Liberia but raised in the US, Nagbe has made 10 appearances with the US national team since gaining citizenship late last year. He declined a call-up to the USMNT for their October friendlies, and was left off of recently-fired head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster for the World Cup qualifying defeats to Mexico and Costa Rica earlier this month.
