Scottish Premiership sides Celtic and Rangers FC are reportedly interested in signing defender Kiki Kouyate from Ligue 2 side Troyes AC.
The report claims: “Troyes defender Boubakar Kouyate is wanted by both Celtic and Rangers according to a French report. The 23-year-old, nicknamed ‘Kiki’ is a Malian international and was an impressive performer as his side narrowly missed out on promotion to Ligue 1.
“According to France Football, the centre-back is wanted by Lens, but their offer is some way short of the valuation put on Kouyate.”
The centre-back joined Troyes from Sporting’s U23 side in January of 2019 and during the 2019-20 season, Kouyate had managed to play in 18 leagues games before the lockdown abruptly shut down all the leagues in France.
Rangers FC or Celtic: Who will sign Kouyate?
Both Rangers FC and Celtic FC are desperately looking to bring in a new centre-back this summer dues to fears of losing their own assets to the bigger clubs in England.
The Bhoys could have to part ways with Kristoffer Ajer who is being eyed by Premier League side Leicester City while Gerrard’s top defender, Connor Goldson could also be heading for the English top division during the summer.
So in such a scenario, both the Glasgow based clubs are eyeing out alternatives and it looks like the two sides have now set their sights on Kiki Kouyate.
The 23-year-old still has two years left on his current deal at Troyes and as per the rumours, the Ligue 2 side will let him leave for a transfer price of around €4.5 million.
This price tag might seem a bit steep for both Celtic as well as Rangers FC but if either of their central defenders are heading to England then surely they will get a hefty amount in return.
And in that case, making a move for the Mail international should not be a big cause of concerns for the SPFL sides.
Kiki Kouyate has been a regular feature for his current season this past season so we can imagine that he will demand regular game time from the club which is more likely to sign him during the summer.
