Everton are expected to beat Celtic to the signing of Royal Antwerp right-back Aurelio Buta, according to the Sun journalist Jordan Davies.

The Hoops had been locked in negotiations to sign the Portuguese defender but there is said to be a large gap between the two teams’ valuation of the player:

EXCLUSIVE: Celtic hopes of landing Aurelio Buta suffer a blow as Premier League outfit prepare £3m movehttps://t.co/NqY6CCsNMO pic.twitter.com/tqWC4zE6zv

— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) August 10, 2021

While the Scottish club are only willing to pay £1m for Buta, Antwerp have set an asking price of £3m, despite the fact that the 24-year-old has less than a year remaining on his current deal with the Belgian Pro League outfit.

The main reason that the valuation is so high is because half of the proceeds from the sale are owed to the fullback’s previous team Benfica.

With Everton willing to pay the full £3m, it means Celtic will have to look elsewhere to provide competition for Anthony Ralston. Legia Warsaw’s Josip Juranovic has been suggested as a possible alternative so we shall see if they do go after the Croatian in the coming days.