Celtic’s Erik Sviatchenko confirms summer interest from Besiktas

Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko has revealed that Turkish side Besiktas were interested in signing him during the summer transfer window after having admitted that “wasn’t completely satisfied” at the club.

The 25-year-old has been unable to play for the Hoops so far in the SPL after suffering a knee injury in the Champions League qualifying match against Rosenborg in August.

Sviatchenko was reportedly linked with a move away from Brendan Rodgers’s side this summer and he states that he was so close to leaving the club this summer on a loan deal to Besiktas.

 “I spoke to Celtic about my future, but there are three parties that had to agree – me, Celtic and FC Copenhagen,” he said to the Scottish Sun.

“I told the club I wasn’t completely satisfied at being third choice.

“Besiktas were also really interested in me as a loan signing.

“That could have been exciting.”

Although the Denmark defender made a total of 43 appearances for the first-team last season, he has found himself behind fellow teammates Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyota in the pecking order for the central defender position.

The Hoops will be hopeful that the Denmark international can make a quick recovery as they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four matches across all competition.

F/W’s view

It’s always interesting to hear a play talks about what transpired during the summer transfer window. It appears that the central defender had his heart set on a switch from Scotland but the deal failed to materialize. It wouldn’t be a surprise should the Turkish giant attempt to sign him when the window reopens in January especially if he is still not on Celtic’s plan for regular SPL fixtures.

With the amount of injuries Celtic have suffered at the early stages of the season, Rodgers cannot afford to lose any more defensive options so the Turkish giants will need to return with an offer to hijack him on a permanent deal rather than a loan.

Erik Sviatchenko is clearly unsure about his future and having decided to go public with his thoughts, it will be interesting to see how the Scottish giants accept him when he returns to full fitness.