Celtic have been handed a boost to their hopes of sealing a summer transfer deal for Schalke defender Malick Thiaw.

What's the news?

Speaking to WAZ (via the Daily Record), Schalke sporting director Rouven Schroder said that they would be willing to listen to any potential offers that come in for the Celtic-linked centre-back this summer.

He said: "There is no such thing as an abrupt no. We have always said that we will deal with offers that come in.

"If the overall theme fits, we’ll also think about it. Malick is here and I think he suits us very well in the Bundesliga, nevertheless, he is of course in demand because of the Under-21s and his performances."

This, therefore, could give Ange Postecoglou the thumbs up to launch a move for the centre-back and put an offer in that the German club would have to consider.

Great news for Celtic

Having had experience of playing in the youth ranks of clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach, the 20-year-old joined Schalke's youth squad back in 2015.

Since then, the German has gone on to make 142 appearances for his current club across their senior and youth teams, scoring 14 goals and providing five assists along the way.

Last season saw the centre-back make 31 league appearances for Schalke as they won promotion back to the Bundesliga.

In those appearances, Thiaw made more interceptions (55) and won more tackles (45) than any of his teammates.

He also ended the season with a higher average of clearances per game (3.4) than any other player at the club.

His overall performances earned the defender a solid season rating of 7.09/10 from WhoScored, making him the fifth-highest rated outfield player at Schalke.

This shows just how capable the youngster, who is currently valued at £5.4m according to Transfermarkt, is at the back, even at such a young age and why it's great news for the Hoops that Schroder has revealed the club would listen to offers for the player.

Now that this revelation has emerged, Celtic should spring into action and launch a move to secure a deal for Thiaw this summer, especially with current Bhoys defender Christopher Jullien looking likely to leave.

AND in other news: "Almost impossible": Big transfer update emerges that'll have Celtic supporters gutted