Glasgow Celtic have been handed a boost to their chances of bringing Carl Starfelt to Parkhead this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Russian Football News (via The Scottish Sun), who claimed that the Rubin Kazan defender was absent from training on Thursday, with the 26-year-old believed to be in talks regarding a transfer to Celtic after the Bhoys lodged a £4m bid for the Sweden international earlier this week.

The Scottish Sun then added that the centre-back, who is being lined up as a potential Kris Ajer replacement, is thought to be extremely keen to secure a move to Parkhead this summer, and is hoping to have his personal terms agreed with Ange Postecoglou's side as quickly as possible.

Ange will be delighted

Considering just how impressive Starfelt was for Kazan last season, the fact that Celtic appear to be edging closer to getting a deal for the defender over the line is sure to have left Postecoglou delighted, particularly with Ajer continuing to be linked with a move away from Celtic this summer.

Indeed, over his 29 Premier Liga appearances for Leonid Slutski's side last term, the £2.7m-rated man helped his team keep 11 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.1 tackles, 3.9 clearances and winning three duels per game.

The 26-year-old also impressed at the other end of the pitch, scoring three goals and completing 91% of his passes over the course of the season.

These returns saw the man Anel Avdic dubbed a "fantastic" player earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.08, ranking him as Kazan's fourth-best performer in the top flight of Russian football.

So, if Postecoglou can indeed go on to secure a deal for Starfelt this summer, as well as Ajer going on to seal his anticipated move away from Parkhead, it would appear as if the Celtic boss could immediately land a very apt replacement for the outgoing defender.

In other news: Celtic dealt blow as "creative" 11 G/A gem has "decided" on move, Ange will be gutted