Football League World
·28 June 2024
Football League World
·28 June 2024
Alan McInally has claimed Norwich City's Angus Gunn could be a good option for Celtic to replace Joe Hart in goal.
Former Celtic striker and Sky Sports pundit Alan McInally has suggested that his former side should consider Norwich City goalkeeper and Scotland No.1 Angus Gunn as they search for a replacement for Joe Hart.
Gunn has played all of his career in England so far, but his father, Bryan Gunn, played in Scottish league football with both Aberdeen and Hibernian. However, Angus has previously been linked with a move to the Scottish Premiership in the form of Celtic's bitter rivals, Rangers.
Although a deal was always deemed as "increasingly unlikely" for him to move to Rangers last summer, with reports from Football Insider stating he would stay at Norwich.
Gunn started his youth career at Carrow Road before Man City snapped him up and loaned him out in 2017/18, but he would eventually return to the club permanently in June 2021 from Southampton.
He initially struggled to force his way into the starting line-up, with Tim Krul remaining as first-choice, but Gunn was handed an opportunity in the 2022/23 campaign and has cemented himself as their No.1 for the last few seasons, and as one of the division's best goalkeepers.
He has also become Scotland's primary stopper since switching his allegiance to the nation of his father to follow in his footsteps, and featured as the starting goalkeeper in all three of their games at the European Championships this summer, conceding seven goals as Scotland finished bottom of the group.
The 28-year-old now has a year remaining on his deal with the Canaries and may fancy a change of scenery from East Anglia. Brendan Rodgers is in the market for a replacement for Hart after his retirement at the end of last season and McInally believes that Gunn could be a good option for the Scottish giants.
The ex-Celtic striker said, via Betfair: "Angus Gunn to Celtic? Maybe, maybe, because Joe's retired now.
"I don't think he played well against Germany. I really don't. I think he picked up though and I think he recovered against Switzerland and Hungary, for sure. But I thought he was at fault for the first goal against Germany and I thought he could have done better in a couple of instances.
"And certainly, as a goalkeeper, you have to be powerful and strong and you also have to be reliable for the guys in front of you. You need to know that we've got someone behind us that's just rock steady and consistently good. "Would Celtic sign him? I don't know. I think Celtic would go for it. I'm not sure of that one. It's a good question. And I don't know if he’s got a connection with Celtic. I don't know. It's a hard one to answer.
"At the moment in time, he's probably happy where he is, at Norwich City, where his dad was, of course."
Gunn didn’t have a great start to his Euros but grew into his role at the tournament by responding with solid displays against Switzerland and Hungary.
However, no one can knock his performances in the second tier over the last 18 months, with Gunn establishing himself as one of the most consistent and reliable goalkeepers with Norwich.
The 28-year-old just enjoyed a strong season with the Canaries as he helped them reach the play-offs. Gunn kept 11 clean sheets and prevented 4.55 goals in the Championship (FotMob) - stats that put him among the top tier of keepers in the division.
His contractual situation makes matters more complicated, though. He is not likely to be short of suitors given his age and experience as well, meaning a club such as Celtic may be in for a player of his calibre this summer.
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