Celtic Near Deal for PSV Midfielder van den Berg

Celtic are working to complete a deal for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Joël van den Berg as they seek to strengthen their squad before the transfer window closes on September 3. The move comes as the Scottish champions look to recover from their painful Champions League elimination and prepare for the Europa League. The 19-year-old Dutch youth international is reportedly the subject of an agreement in principle between the clubs, with a fee of around £3.5 million (€4 million) mentioned. Van den Berg, who made five first-team appearances for PSV last season, is said to be keen on the move to secure regular first-team football. He is described as a physically imposing, box-to-box midfielder with a strong goalscoring record at youth level. The potential signing follows a difficult week for Celtic. On August 26, they were eliminated from the Champions League playoff round by Austrian side LASK. After building a 4-0 aggregate lead, Celtic lost the second leg 5-1 after extra time, resulting in a 5-4 overall defeat. The result dropped them into the Europa League group stage. Manager Martin O'Neill acknowledged the disappointment but emphasized the need to move forward.