Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been an admirer of Mateus Tete "for a long time," and links to Celtic this summer have "some substance", according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
Is Mateus Tete joining Celtic this summer?
It has been a mixed transfer window for the Scottish champions so far this year. While they have welcomed new faces to the club, like the exciting Odin Thiago Holm from Norwegian side Valerenga, and extended the contracts of stars like Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi, they have also lost their best attacker Jota who was sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad for a fee of £25m.
With the departure of the fan favourite, the club have begun looking for a replacement, and according to reports from Ukraine (via the Daily Record), that replacement could be a player who has already played under Rodgers at Leicester City, Tete.
The rapid attacker's contract at Shakhtar Donetsk is set to expire at the end of the year, but due to the ongoing Russian invasion of the country, he has revealed he wants to leave, saying:
"Shakhtar became the first serious club in my career and gave me a lot. I will always love this team. But I can no longer stay here. I hope the fans understand my point of view.
"There are clubs that are interested in me. My agent is already negotiating with the management of Shakhtar about my contract."
It is almost impossible to guess what kind of transfer fee would be involved in a deal like this due to the unprecedented situation in Ukraine, but Transfermarkt have valued the 23-year-old at around €25m (£22m).
The reports coming out of the country have named the Glasgow giants the 'red hot favourites' to sign the player, and transfer insider Dean Jones believes this transfer could happen.
What has Dean Jones said about Celtic and Matheus Tete?
Jones explained that while he is usually sceptical about stories such as this one, the links to Tete are different.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: "He's ready to leave Shakhtar. Brendan Rodgers has obviously admired this player for a long time. I've said in the past that I'm sceptical about links to previous clubs, but in this case, I believe there is some substance to it, and Tete would be a good asset."
How good is Mateus Tete?
While he certainly isn't an out-and-out world-beater, Tete has proven his ability over the past 18 months, staring for Lyon and performing to a decent standard for Leicester.
For the Ligue 1 side last season, he started 14 games, scored six goals, provided two assists, and achieved an average rating of 6.93, per WhoScored.
Whereas his time in the East Midlands was a little less productive, seeing him score just one goal and create no assists in nine starts in the Premier League, earning himself an average match rating of just 6.48, also per WhoScored.
Despite his output being somewhat disappointing at the King Power, Rodgers was still full of praise for the Brazilian, saying:
"Tete was what I have been talking about for 18 months – a right-winger that can take the ball, pass the ball, look after it, make runs and work.
"He knows football, he knows the type of game we were trying to play, his touch is immaculate."
While not out of this world, his underlying numbers are certainly still good enough and suggest that he could reach even higher levels if he moved to the Scottish Premiership.
According to FBref, who compare players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the dynamic winger sits in the top 17% for non-penalty goals, the top 19% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 21% for interceptions, the top 24% for tackles, the top 27% for successful take-ons, and the top 30% for progressive passes received, all per 90.
If Celtic and Rodgers can convince the 23-year-old to move to Glasgow this summer, Jota's absence might be much more manageable and palatable.
