Patrick Berg is one of the players who has been linked with a move to Celtic for a long time without it ever materialising. And now, it looks unlikely that it will anytime soon as the Norwegian completed a move to Ligue 1 side, Lens, for a transfer fee believed to be around £3.3 million. And if the 24-year-old midfielder can continue to perform like he has in the past, that could prove to be an absolute bargain.

Celtic could certainly have done with a player like Berg in their midfield but have gone on to sign Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi themselves, and there is a lot of excitement around those arrivals as well.

It has emerged though that Celtic, as well as Ajax, were indeed interested in the Bodo/Glimt star although he decided to make the move to Lens.

As reported by the Daily Record, Berg said:

“Yes, Celtic and Ajax were both interested in me.

“I had a good season with my club where we won the league and I was voted Player of the Year. But I felt Lens were the best option for me.”

Berg decided on Lens move despite their being interest from Celtic and Ajax

That is certainly an interesting choice on the part of Berg but then, it is also one that you can understand.

He is now in a top five European league and playing for a team in Lens, who are having a decent time in the top flight of French football. They finished 7th last season and currently sit at 9th in the league table right now. And who does not want to share a pitch with Lionel Messi?

For Celtic, the move still comes as a boost as Bodo/Glimt have been considerably weakened as a result of Berg’s departure. He was one of the club’s standout players for quite some time now.

Celtic are scheduled to face the Norwegian champions in the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout playoff round in what is expected to be a tight contest between two sides who have impressed in Europe this season.

This article was originally posted here