Celtic are “working on a deal” to sign Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio, according to the Scottish Daily Mail reporter Stephen McGowan.

The trusted journalist has backed up other reports in the Scottish media that manager Brendan Rodgers is pursuing a deal for the Australian international.

It is believed that previous boss Ange Postecoglou was the one who instigated the Hoops’ pursuit of Tilio but Rodgers has opted not to pull out of the deal following his appointment.

Tilio had a very good campaign for Melbourne City, scoring ten goals and providing six assists in 31 appearances, and he was named in the PFA A-League Team of the Season.

International recognition and World Cup call-up

The winger was given his first cap at senior level in a 4-0 win over Vietnam during qualification for the 2022 World Cup. He featured in two more qualifiers, as well as a couple of friendlies, before he was included in the final 23 man squad for the tournament in Qatar.

Unfortunately, despite Australia making it to the final 16, Tilio didn’t play a single minute for the Socceroos, being an unused substitute in all four matches.

Tilio will have to fight off a lot of competition to get game time at Celtic

The Australian is left-footed and generally favours cutting in from the right wing, but the Scottish champions are not exactly short of options on that flank.

Liel Abada, Jota and James Forrest all prefer playing off the right so, if he does move to Scotland, Tilio will have his work cut out if he wants to get minutes on a regular basis.

There has, though, been a lot of speculation about Abada’s future, with McGowan having previously reported that the Israeli international has turned down a new contract. If the 21-year-old were to leave Parkhead this summer, it could open a path for Tilio.