Celtic transfer state of play as Mbuyamba 'enquiry' made amid two horse race with Lagerbielke to replace Starfelt

Celtic have reportedly made an enquiry to Volendam over Xavier Mbuyamba as their hunt for a Carl Starfelt replacement steps up.

But the Hoops remain firmly in talks over Swedish defender Gustaf Lagerbielke with Brendan Rodgers considering his options to replace Starfelt. Sweden defender Starfelt is in talks over a move to Celta Vigo and Rodgers hinted that could be done early this week. Reports in Starfelt's homeland then emerged claiming a £3m offer had been made for his Sweden teammate Lagerbielke and talks over the 23-year-old are ongoing.

It's believed agent Blash Hosseini, who represents both Starfelt and Lagerbielke, is working hard on the deal for one of his clients to replace the other at Parkhead. But he's not the only option on the table as Sky Sports now report the Hoops have firmed up their interest in Mbuyamba, who was previously labelled the next Virgil van Dijk while on the books at Barcelona and Chelsea as a young prospect.

Mbuyamba is one of a number of promising talents at Volendam and was linked with Celtic and Watford earlier in the window but all seemed to go quiet. Now though it's believed the Hoops have taken the first steps towards signing him and are awaiting a response from the Eredivisie side over how much he would cost. Both prospective Starfelt replacements are renowned for their ability in the air it appears a young, aerially dominant defender with high resale potential is Rodgers' next priority.

As things stand it seems unlikely Celtic would sign both with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki, Yuki Kobayashi and Stephen Welsh among the other central defensive options. Speaking after the win over Ross County, Rodgers had expressed his desire to have four 'competitive' centre-backs, and