Celtic forward Patryk Klimala has been linked with a loan move to MLS club New York Red Bulls after struggling to establish himself in Scotland since a transfer from his native Poland in January 2020.
Celtic spent around £3.5m on Klimala, who made his senior breakthrough at Polish club Jagiellonia Bialystok in 2018, but the youngster has only scored three times in 28 appearances in all competitions and has started only three games in the Scottish Premiership this season.
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According to The Scottish Sun, 22-year-old Klimala is a loan target for New York Red Bulls ahead of the 2021 MLS season, which is due to start later this month.
It is suggested that Celtic are open to letting Klimala leave temporarily in order to get more playing time and rediscover confidence that has been lost by his trouble finding form in Scotland.
Celtic have already done business with Red Bulls this year, selling 19-year-old California-born winger Cameron Harper to the New York club last month. Celtic recruited Harper in 2018, which resulted in him turning down a college scholarship from UCLA, but he only made one first-team appearance.
The current MLS transfer window opened last month for clubs to do business before the season kicks off and will remain open until 1 June.
The dates have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with MLS seasons typically beginning in early March. The first transfer window would usually be open from February to May but everything has been pushed back a month in 2021 to account for the start of the season being delayed.
Red Bulls are in desperate need of a goalscorer. They bid farewell to ageing two-time MLS Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips in 2019 and have so far been unable to replace him.
The club’s top MLS scorer last season was Brian White on just five goals, while their next highest scoring forward was fellow home-grown player Tom Barlow on only three. Fabio has been recruited on loan from third division Brazilian club Oeste, but Red Bulls are still extremely light up front.
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