Celtic want Championship star as Kieran Tierney replacement

Celtic have been locked in transfer talks with Premier League giants, Arsenal, throughout the course of the summer as they negotiate a deal for Scottish left-back, Kieran Tierney. With the Premier League transfer window closing on August 8th, the transfer saga has reached its last stages as Celtic look at replacements for Tierney’s possible departure.

Every day something new crops up in the Tierney-to-Arsenal transfer saga. Yesterday, it was reported that Celtic were looking at Hull City’s left-back, Stephen Kingsley, as a possible replacement. But new reports from The Sun suggest that the Scottish champions now want to sign Brentford left-back, Rico Henry, as Tierney looks set to finally get his move to the Premier League.

Henry came through the Walsall academy and has represented England at both under-19 and under-20 levels. Henry joined Brentford from Walsall in 2016 for an initial fee of £1.5-million potentially rising to £5-million. But since then Henry has found it hard to nail down a starting spot in the Brentford first-team, making only 37 appearances in his three seasons at the club. A lot of that though has been down to the youngster’s injury problems and he has done a decent job when fully fit.

With less than two years remaining on his contract, Brentford could be tempted to sell the 22-year-old left-back if an offer arrives from Celtic Park. Apparently the Championship club are willing to accept an offer in the range of £7-million. According to reports, they have even started looking for Henry’s replacement by making inquiries for Derby County’s Max Lowe and Vitesse Arnhem’s Max Clark.

And if Celtic do manage to reach a deal with Brentford for Henry, it could clear the way for Tierney to finally get his move to Arsenal. Considering that a transfer fee in the range of £25-million to £30-million is being touted for the Scottish international, the deal could represent some solid business for the Premiership holders.

But while not the worst signing in the world, it is hard to see the logic behind Celtic replacing a Scotland international with a Championship defender who has had a history of injury problems. As the transfer saga continues to drag on, names like Kingsley and Henry will continue to be linked as possible replacements and it is advisable to take all rumours with a pinch of salt until anything is officially announced by the clubs involved.