Celtic handed a boost in pursuit of Vinicius Souza and the club have an advantage over others

As the rumours continue to circulate around Vinicius Souza, yesterday we were given something concrete surrounding our pursuit of Vinicius Souza.

The player has declared he wants a crack at Champions League football.

As I stated in a previous article, both Fenerbahçe and Club Brugge – two clubs also in pursuit of the player – will also be in the running for the Champions League.

Brugge have qualified automatically, but Fenerbahçe have to play in the qualifying rounds.

However, one huge advantage that Celtic have over these two clubs is the passion and atmosphere we have at Celtic park on European nights.

Brazilian footballers are also passionate about the game and Souza will be well aware of the legendary European nights under the lights at Celtic Park.

If he is interested in joining Celtic, he knows he will be coming to a club with a huge fan base and playing in front of crowds in excess of 55,000 week in, week out.

As with any player who is aware that other clubs are in pursuit of his signature, Souza will be doing his research.

Yes, Fenerbahçe fans are passionate and noisy and their manager, Jorge Jesus speaks Souza’s language, so the Turkish club may be our closest rivals in the race to sign the Brazilian.

But what they do not have is a proven track record in development of players like Celtic has and Champions League football is not yet guaranteed.

Souza will be taking all of these things into account while weighing up his destination choice and at this moment in time, you would feel Celtic possess the slightest of advantages.

It has also emerged that PSV Eindhoven have also declared their interest in the player, but this is only tentative as yet.

As this one plays out, it will be interesting to see if Celtic can