Pete O'Rourke has dropped a worrying claim regarding Celtic's bid to sign Cameron Carter-Vickers on a permanent basis.

What's the talk?

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, O'Rourke stated his belief that, while Ange Postecoglou would ideally like to sign the Tottenham Hotspur loanee on a permanent basis in the January transfer window, Celtic may not be able to afford a move for the centre-back this month.

Speaking about the club's potential deal for the 24-year-old, the journalist said: "Celtic would ideally love to get this deal wrapped up quickly, but I think £10m would be a bit too much for Celtic right now - so they may have to wait to the summer."

In further comments given to the same publication, O'Rourke then suggested that, as a result of the USA international's fine performances north of the border, the Bhoys could well end up missing out on the defender's signature altogether, as a number of other clubs will have taken note of his impressive displays for the Hoops.

The journalist said: "The worry for Celtic is if Carter-Vickers continues to impress up at Celtic Park, that might bring other clubs to the table to try to sign the American in the summer."

Postecoglou would be fuming

Considering just how impressive Carter-Vickers has been for Celtic since his season-long loan move to Parkhead last summer, should the Bhoys indeed go on to miss out on the centre-back's permanent signing, it would undoubtedly be an outcome that will have Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, over his 15 Premiership outings in the current campaign, the £2.7m-rated defender has helped his side keep seven clean sheets, scored two goals and provided his teammates with one assist, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 0.7 tackles, 85.2 passes and winning a whopping 71% of his duels per game.

These returns have seen the £20k-per-week man average a rather astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.45, ranking him as the fourth-best performer in the entirety of the Scottish top flight.

As such, it is clear for all to see that Carter-Vickers would make an excellent addition to Postecoglou's permanent options in the heart of his Celtic defence.

That leads us to believe that the defender moving anywhere other than Parkhead at the end of the season would come as a gutting blow for the 56-year-old manager - particularly as it has been reported that the Hoops have already started negotiations with the player regarding his transfer to the club.

In other news: Big twist emerges in Celtic's pursuit of "no brainer" signing that will outrage fans