WASHINGTON — Scottish Premiership side Celtic is one of several European clubs linked with acquiring American midfielder Tanner Tessmann for this upcoming season, but manager Brendan Rodgers did not reveal any information about the proposed move.
Tessmann, who earned promotion back to Italy’s Serie A with his parent club Venezia, was moving close to joining Inter Milan on a permanent move this summer until talks broke down. Inter Milan and Venezia failed to agree on a loan destination for Tessmann as part of the deal, which led to the newly-promoted side ending negotiations.
Celtic, Brentford, Everton, Como, and Parma are among clubs that are reportedly aiming to hijack the deal and make the U.S. men’s national team midfielder the newest member of their squad before the season begins.
The 22-year-old Tessmann is coming off a career-best year with Venezia, where he scored seven goals and added three assists in 42 combined appearances. He’s made 99 appearances for Venezia since his move from MLS side FC Dallas and is currently with the U.S. Olympic team ahead of the start of the competition in Paris, France.
A move could still happen between Celtic and Venezia in the coming weeks, but for now, Rodgers is focused on who he currently has in his squad.
“Right now it’s a lot of speculation and gossip and that is the time of the season to be fair,” Rodgers said postmatch Saturday after Celtic’s 4-0 friendly win over DC United.
Tessmann and the United States open group stage play on Wednesday against hosts France before also taking on New Zealand and Guinea on July 27 and 30 respectively.
Celtic continues its preseason tour of the U.S. against Manchester City and Chelsea over the next week.
