Mathias Kvistgaarden hands Celtic major transfer hope as 'more than difficult' Brondby demand has rivals hesitating

Mathias Kvistgaarden could still be ON for Celtic as reports in Germany suggest Schalke will struggle to meet Brondby's demands.

The Danish striker has been subject to firm interest from Parkhead and it's believed an offer worth more than £4m was rejected in the summer. Brondby have been keen to hold onto him and were repaid with seven goals and seven assists from the 21-year-old before their domestic winter break.

It's believed it will take a serious offer to move the needle and Football Scotland reported in December that Schalke had made the first tangible move by sounding out the player's representatives. But while the Germans remain keen, TZ now report that they may struggle to come up with the cash required to blow Celtic out of the water. And that could be good news for Brendan Rodgers who remains determined to sign a new striker this month even despite Kyogo staying around during the Asia Cup.

In his most recent transfer update, Rodgers hinted 'one or two' could be incoming - and sooner rather than later. Speaking before their clash with Kilmarnock, where they signed off for the winter break with a comfortable win, he said: ”The players will get a little bit of time - they need that. They’ll have a break to maybe spend a wee bit of time with their families," he said.

“They’ll have some work they need to do while they’re away but it’s a good chance to reset before going again. We have a spell without any games before we play in the Scottish Cup. So we can do a lot of work in that period.

"We’ll hopefully have some of the injured players back and maybe one or two in the door. Then we push on for the second half of the season. There will be no winter break next season and that’s a real shame."