Former Celtic player Charlie Nicholas believes the Scottish champions should consider making a move for Arsenal defender Pablo Mari.

The Spaniard spent the second half of last season out on loan at Udinese, and he is tipped to return to Italy, with both Monza and Verona keen on securing his services. However, Nicholas says that Celtic should step in and make a bid for the centre-back:

“The player I would try and get would be Pablo Mari at Arsenal. The Spaniard is experienced, is naturally left-sided, is a real presence and is a good, good player. The fact he is at Arsenal and had previously been at Manchester City shows the sort of quality Mari has. I know he has had loan spells at both clubs but he was out at Udinese last season and that again shows the level he is at. I think Celtic’s squad is stronger than last season but I don’t think they have taken a leap forward yet.”

“Yes, I know it is early in the season and the new players are still bedding in but until Ange addresses the left-sided centre-back then I don’t see Celtic taking that leap forward again. I think Starfelt and Jenz will get Celtic by domestically but they need to raise the bar again, especially for the Champions League.”

Mari would undoubtedly be interested in a move to Celtic, with the Hoops offering him the chance of playing in the Champions League. However, it isn’t clear whether manager Ange Postecoglou is looking to recruit another option in the middle of defence.

As Nicholas points out, Moritz Jenz has joined the club on loan, which means that Postecoglou has four recognised centre-halves at his disposal, in addition to Christopher Jullien.

With that being the case, you would have to question whether there is a real need to bring in a player like Mari.