Celtic have made breakthrough in Shane Duffy transfer chase

Celtic appear to have finally made a breakthrough in their transfer chase for Brighton and Hove Albion centre-back Shane Duffy.

There is no doubt that the addition of Shane Duffy would drastically improve things at the back for Celtic. The no nonsense Republic of Ireland international would add some much needed steel to the back. Something that the pairing of Ajer and Jullien seem to be missing. And with Ajer looking for an exit as well, signing Duffy could not come at a better time.

The Hoops have found a difficult time though, trying to reach a deal for the defender. While reports suggest that boyhood fan Duffy himself is keen on a switch to Celtic and be part of their 10IAR charge, a £2 million loan fee has been touted for his services, a fee that the club do not seem so keen to pay.

On the other hand, a permanent transfer would cost something around £5 million and Celtic might not want to pay that sum either for a 28-year-old with very little resell value at the end of his contract. It does appear though that Brighton might be willing to make a few compromises and structure the deal in such a way that would suit the Hoops better.

As reported by the Sunday Post:

"It would seem Brighton are now willing to spread the cost of the transfer fee over a four-year period leaving Celtic with £1.25 million to pay on an annual basis over what you would assume would be a four-year contract at Celtic. This would seem a compromise that could suit Celtic, spreading the fee over the term of Duffy’s contract would allow Celtic to get the player on a permanent deal rather that a loan deal and negate the £2million loan fee stumbling block that appears to have been the issue."

This provides fresh hope that a deal might be on the cards. And there is no doubt that Duffy would be a huge acquisition on the part of Celtic. At the end of the day, he is someone who has proven his quality in the Premier League already. This transfer saga has dragged on for a while though. And the longer it does, the more frustrated the fans are gonna get about it.