Celtic have been linked with Ben Davies for quite some time now. The Preston North End defender is believed to be one of the best defenders in the Championship right now.
His contract runs out at the end of the season though and it looks like The Hoops have made quite the coup by agreeing a pre-contract agreement with him as reported by Sky Sports. Although there have been conflicting reports in the media over the deal being completed.
Parkhead does look like the defender’s most likely destination in the summer. Although, if Anthony Joseph is to be believed, then he could end up at the club even this month.
The Sky Sports journalist wrote on Twitter:
"There is a chance a deal could be done in this window. But that will need Celtic and Preston to negotiate a fee. Alex Neil said the other day that he expected Davies to stay until the end of the season."
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Will Celtic sign Ben Davies in January?
To be very honest, it is hard to see this happening though. The very point of a pre-contract agreement is that the player joins at the end of the season on a free. Why would Celtic go for that if they wanted to pay a fee to secure his services this month?
But then, this could be an interesting negotiating move on the part of the Hoops. Now that Preston North End know that they are set to lose the player for free in the summer, they might be open to letting him leave on a bargain deal in order to get something out of his departure.
That might be what Celtic want. There is clearly the need of a central defender at Parkhead right now following Christopher Jullien’s long-term injury and Shane Duffy’s terrible form ever since joining the club. Thus, a cut-price deal for a defender who is considered by many to be one of the best in the Championship is not the worst idea in the world even when they can land him for free in the summer.