Former Celtic striker Harald Brattbakk believes Valerenga midfielder Odin Thiago Holm has the “same potential” as Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.

The Hoops have reportedly agreed a £2.6m fee for Holm, with the move set to be sealed soon after the player undergoes a medical. Asked about the 20-year-old’s abilities, Brattbakk said the sky really is the limit for the player:

“You can see that he has got potential. With the likes of him compared to say a Martin Odegaard, maybe he has the same potential, but Odegaard got the potential out when he was 15. You could see he would become really good. With Holm, it is a bit different and it is always exciting to see when players move if they are able to reach the next level. You would think they have got it, but you don’t know until they try. He’s from my home town. He’s exciting and he’s been consistently good and he is one of those players who are still young, but also good.”

In terms of a potential move to Celtic, Brattbakk says it will be interesting to see where he fits in when a new head coach is appointed:

“How well he would fit into a Celtic team I wouldn’t know because I don’t know who the manager is going to be. I would say he is more attacking than defensive. Certainly his work ethic is really good. He runs a lot and is one of those players who you don’t see all of the time during games, but he is right behind you backing you up or he is just in front of you taking charge. I think he’s been at a good place developing.”

Brattbakk’s words will undoubtedly excite Celtic supporters who will not know a great deal about Holm, considering he has only really emerged on the scene in Norway over the past couple of seasons.

From the sound of things, though, it appears that the Scottish champions are about to land someone with a big future in the game.

An opportunity too good to turn down

Considering Celtic don’t have a manager in place, it is somewhat surprising to see that the club have made such a concerted effort to sign Holm.

You would have thought that the Hoops would wait until they have hired a successor for Ange Postecoglou before finalising any transfers. After all, you don’t know whether the new head coach will be a fan of the player.

However, it could well be that Holm’s potential is so great that the club felt that they had no choice but to make their move now. Based on Brattback’s assessment, and his comparison to Odegaard, that does seem to be the case.