Sevilla confirm Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata is a '˜priority signing'

Sevilla sports director Joaquin Caparros has confirmed they have targeted wantaway Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata as one of their main summer targets.

The Belgian World Cup star’s future is up in the air after he reportedly refused to play in Celtic’s Champions League exit in Greece to AEK Athens - a claim denied by the player, who insisted he was injured.

He’s now back in training with the Champions and could be brought back into the team by manager Brendan Rodgers.

Boyata has been linked with a £10 million move to La Liga heavyweights Sevilla since his World Cup performances in Russia, where Belgium finished third.

Sevilla have confirmed their interest in Dedryck Boyata. Picture: SNS Group

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And now Sevilla have broken their silence on their interest on the 27-year-old, who is in the last year of his contract.

Sevilla have already snapped up eight new signings for Pablo Machin’s squad and they opened their La Liga campaign last weekend with an impressive 4-1 win at Rayo Vallecano.

And they have made it clear they see Boyata as a priority.

Caparros said: “Boyata is one of those players that we have been following for a long time. Defence is an area we need to reinforce.

“We must proceed calmly because there are many factors with a transfer that doesn’t just depend on ourselves.

“The squad is balanced and impressive, but maybe there is something missing and we will try to address that.”