Celtic: Rodgers could ditch Bain by signing Dominik Livakovic
The Hoops have been linked with a swoop to sign the Croatia international.
Celtic have enjoyed an impressive week in the transfer market as they have been able to add three new players to the squad ahead of the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership opener next month.
Who have Celtic signed this summer?
Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, and Maik Nawrocki have all joined the club over the last five days, which means that Brendan Rodgers has five fresh additions to work with so far.
Australia international Marco Tilio and Norwegian maestro Odin Thiago Holm had already been snapped up by the Glasgow giants earlier this summer to bolster the Northern Irish tactician’s options in midfield.
That does not appear to be the end of the club’s business before September’s deadline, though, as the ex-Liverpool boss is eyeing a new player between the sticks.
It was recently reported that the Hoops remain interested in a deal to sign Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who is also being pursued by Fenerbahce.
The Turkish giants had agreed a €9m (£7.7m) deal for the experienced shot-stopper earlier this month but they are yet to get the move over the line, which has seemingly opened up the door for the Scottish side.
How good is Dominik Livakovic?
During the 2022/23 campaign, the 28-year-old titan proved his quality with a string of outstanding performances for club and country.
His arrival at Parkhead would allow Rodgers to brutally ditch one of his current first-team goalkeepers – Scott Bain – as he already has three options at his disposal in Joe Hart, Benjamin Siegrist, and the 31-year-old Scot.
Livakovic averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.93 across 35 HNL matches for Dinamo last term. He saved 74% of the attempts on his goal and did not make a single error leading to a shot or goal for the opposition in the Croatian top-flight.
The £7.7m-rated ace also showcased his quality on the biggest stage at the World Cup last year, which led to his manager Zlatko Dalic hailing him as “fantastic”.
Croatia made it to the semi-finals of the tournament and the 6 foot 2 colossus played a significant role in their progress with an average Sofascore rating of 7.33 across seven appearances, which included three saves in two penalty shootouts against Japan and Brazil.
Meanwhile, current first-choice Joe Hart averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.77 across 37 Premiership matches and Bain, who could be ejected from the squad as a result of Livakovic’s possible arrival, recorded a score of 6.1 for his display against Hibernian in May.
The £7.6k-per-week dud made one mistake that directly led to a goal for the opposition and conceded four goals from five shots on target, as the Hoops lost 4-2.
His contract at Parkhead is due to expire next summer and Celtic could attempt to part ways with him now, whether that is by mutual consent or by finding a club to take him off their hands, if they are able to get another goalkeeper in to take over from Hart.
Livakovic’s impressive displays for Dinamo and Croatia suggest that the quality is there for him to come in and be Rodgers’ new no.1 option, which would leave the former England international as the number two, and Bain could be the fourth choice in that position.
There does not seem to be much sense in keeping four first-team goalkeepers on the books when you consider that Hart played 37 of the 38 league games last season, and that is why Rodgers must brutally ditch the Scottish liability with the signing of Livakovic.
