What price a prince? Well, on this occasion, apparently nowt.

Not for the first time in the past week, noted football transfers journalist Fabrizio Romano sent the Celtic social media sphere into meltdown.

Unlike his Josip Juranovic or Jota offerings, his latest post didn't even mention the club. To pique the interest of the faithful it took only the utterance of one surname: Larsson.

"Swedish striker Jordan Larsson is set to leave Spartak Moscow as his contract has been terminated in the last few hours," Romano tweeted on Monday night. "Larsson has already received some approaches as it’s an opportunity now on a free transfer."

So the son of the King of Kings is, for the time being at least, a footballing vagabond.

Naturally that led to talk about whether or not he'd fit in at Celtic under Ange Postecoglou. There are no reports suggesting it's actively a transfer the club is pursuing nor that the player himself even wants to... but as I said, that surname!

So does it make sense? Let's run through my painstakingly-put-together (a phrase which here means 'fairly-hastily-assembled') Jordan Larsson Checklist:

Age – He turned 25 last week ✅

Fee – He's now a free agent ✅

Player profile – Larsson has a bit of everything. He can play across the front three though has mostly featured through the middle or from the right. He has rarely come off the left in the past few years. He’s picked up 70 goal contributions (56 goals, 14 assists) in just over 14,000 top-level competitive minutes so far in his career, the equivalent of around 158 full games. His goal return for a sort-of striker isn't superb but it's still very decent for his age and having shifted across the frontline. On top of that he's a left-footer and a fledgling Sweden international. I suspect Postecoglou would enjoy having him. ✅

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Wages – Unsure about this one in all honesty, at Spartak Moscow he would have been on a really good pay packet and there are clubs across Europe who can and likely will offer him more than Celtic would be comfortable with. I have to say ❌ here, however…

Business sense – The name 'Larsson' legitimately adorning the back of a Celtic top again? That’s a marketing open goal even if it were to be without the number 7 ✅

Pressure – Harbouring fond memories of Celtic and Glasgow is one thing but wearing the Hoops and taking on the pressure of his dad’s legacy is another. He mightn’t want that and I wouldn't really blame him... then again he is named after Michael Jordan so perhaps succeeding under pressure is his thing. Either way we can’t tick this box either ❌

Ambition – He spent the last few months on loan at AIK - alongside a certain Mikael Lustig - due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the effect it had on football clubs. It’s worth noting that Helsingborgs were reportedly interested which is obviously an emotional tie for him like Celtic would be (albeit one potentially marred by the infamous pitch invasion when they got relegated). Yet still he chose AIK because they "fit him in terms of sports" and that they'd help him in his ambition to "take a step out into Europe again". The Champions League is THE European stage to play on and he’s never done it… so I think we can probably end this checklist on a positive note: ✅

So will a Larsson once again roam the Parkhead pitch in front of a sea of adoring fans? Who knows but, if it becomes a real discussion, just remember this particular prince ticks a lot of boxes in his own right.

This piece is an extract from today’s Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out at 4pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team. 

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