Celtic has been connected to a surprise summer transfer for Abdellah Zoubir, a former Hibs loanee.
The 32-year-old French winger has drawn attention with his 11 goals this season while playing for Qarabag. In the 4-2 victory over Braga in the Europa League last week, Zoubir showed off his skills by scoring twice and dishing up an assist.
But as his contract is about to expire in June, the former Lens star’s future is in doubt. The last five and a half years of Zoubir’s career have been spent with Qarabag, and the Azerbaijani team is eager to sign him to a new deal.
However, L’Equipe reports that Augsburg, a German team, Celtic, and an unidentified French club have expressed interest in signing Zoubir. Zoubir is free to start pre-contract talks with potential suitors, with the possibility of a summer free transfer.
However, a move to Parkhead would cause controversy and go against Celtic’s recruitment strategy of acquiring younger players with the possibility to be traded. Although Zoubir might be considered a potential replacement for Liel Abada, who is expected to leave the team in the upcoming months, Celts also have a wealth of wide choices.
During his year-long loan from French team Istres to Hibs in 2013–14, Zoubir scored just three goals in 16 games for the Easter Road team, who were demoted at the conclusion of a season marred by accidents. Prior to being transferred to Lens, Zouiber played for Petrolul Ploiesti in Romania after beginning his career with Ligue 2 side Grenoble Foot 38.
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