An update has emerged on Celtic and their attempts to bolster the playing squad before the summer transfer window deadline passes on Friday.
What's the latest Celtic transfer news?
According to Football Scotland, the Hoops have Southampton central defender Lyanco on their shortlist of options to bring in to improve their options at the back.
The report claims that the Brazilian enforcer has been dropped from the Championship outfit's squad ahead of a possible move away from St. Mary's before the window slams shut.
Brendan Rodgers was directly asked about a swoop for the former Torino brute and stated that he is hoping to have an update on that particular pursuit over the next few days.
How good is Lyanco?
Despite Southampton's relegation from the Premier League, Lyanco showcased some promising qualities in and out of possession throughout 21 league appearances during 2022/23 campaign.
The 26-year-old titan has the potential to be a strong, experienced, addition to Rodgers' squad and his arrival could allow the Northern Irish head coach to ruthlessly ditch Liam Scales before the end of the window.
He has been touted with a possible return to Aberdeen, potentially on a permanent basis, this summer after his loan spell with the club last season.
Signing Lyanco could then free up the Irish defender to move on as the Hoops would have adequate cover in place with Gustaf Lagerbielke, Stephen Welsh, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Maik Nawrocki, which could make it difficult for the former Shamrock Rovers ace to find minutes on the pitch.
The Southampton defender made 3.36 tackles and interceptions per 90 for the Saints in the Premier League last season, whilst Scales made 2.9 tackles and interceptions per game across 31 Scottish Premiership matches for Aberdeen. This suggests that the 6 foot 2 ace could win possession back more frequently for the side with his defensive interventions.
Celtic's backline could be less prone to making big mistakes with the £18k-per-week battler as he only made two errors leading to a shot or goal for the opposition and did not concede a single penalty last term. Scales, however, made two blunders leading to shots for the other team and gave away three penalties in that time, as per Sofascore.
Lyanco also ranked within the top 3% of his Premier League positional peers for successful take-ons per 90 (0.61).
Whereas, the Dons loanee completed 0.2 dribbles per match, which suggests that the Brazilian colossus could offer more in possession in terms of being able to drive forward with the ball to bypass an opposition press.
The ex-Serie A tank, who made 59 appearances in the Italian top-flight, could progress Celtic up the pitch by taking on attackers to then create space for the midfielders and attackers to work their magic at the top end of the pitch, rather than stagnating the build-up by being safe on the ball.
Therefore, Lyanco, who was hailed as a "fantastic" character by his former Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, could be an upgrade on Scales in and out of possession and that is why Rodgers could ruthlessly bin the 25-year-old warrior after completing a swoop for the Southampton centre-back.