Celtic face stiff competition from another Turkish competitor in their fight to land Egyptian midfielder Mohamed 'Afsha' Magdy, it is understood.

With Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Besiktas as well as Saudi side Al-Ittihad already reportedly in the hunt for Afsha, Sivasspor have now rejoined the list of potential suitors.

A source close to the player has revealed that, while Celtic's interest appears to be genuine, Turkish club Sivasspor are also now back in the contest for his signature having had a bid knocked back for him in the summer. 

Al Ahly boss Marcel Koller is so far publicly refusing to entertain the notion that the Egyptian club will sanction the sale of their star midfielder, who is reportedly rated in the £3-4million bracket.

Afsha is a stylish attacking midfielder who can also play wide on the right. He has registered 29 goals in 146 appearances for his club as well as helping the Egyptians win two CAF Champions League titles.

He netted the winner in the 2020 final before bagging another in the showpiece a year later as his side retained the trophy.

Speaking in 2021, Afsha revealed that he would be pleased to stay with Al Ahly for the rest of his career.

Celtic Way:

“The trophies, the history and the fans that support you are more important than all the money in the world, this is what I thought about before moving to Al Ahly," he said at the time.

"I hope that I will remain at Al Ahly for my whole life. If it’s possible to remain my whole life there, then I’ll do it. I will never ask to leave Al Ahly, no matter the offer, as it’s between the club and my agent. Trophies, of course, are history, money is definitely important but what I want is for my family to be proud of me."

The Egyptian playmaker now looks set to be at the centre of a transfer tug of war and the goalposts appear to have changed with the speculation on his Al Ahly exit intensifying daily.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, has already added two new signings to bolster his first-team squad in the shape of Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston.

Right-back Johnston sealed a move after impressing for Canada at the World Cup and he joins former Vissel Kobe centre-back Kobayashi as the Hoops concluded some early transfer business.

In late December last year, Postecoglou introduced Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi to the Celtic first-team fold all before the January transfer window had opened in earnest.

The Aussie then added MK Dons midfielder Matt O’Riley at a bargain fee of £1.5million as well as splashing out £600,000 to sign teenage striker Johnny Kenny from Sligo Rovers.

READ MORE: