Celtic are expected to undergo a rebuild in the upcoming summer as they aim to return to the top of Scottish football, after a disappointing campaign that saw the Rangers capture the Premiership with six games to spare.
Changes will have to be made not just on the pitch but off it. Peter Lawwell is set to be replaced by Dominic McKay and a new manager is also expected to be brought in. But it is undeniable that a lot will depend on the players that the club end up signing over the course of the next several months.
One player that they came very close to signing though is Ben Davies. The former Preston North End defender had been linked with The Hoops for quite some time and it looked like they were set to get a pre-contract agreed, with his deal with the Championship side running out at the end of this season. Liverpool swooped in at the last moment and signed him on a permanent basis instead.
He has not played a single minute of football since the move to Anfield, which has given rise to rumours that there could be a chance for Celtic to sign him in the summer. Jurgen Klopp’s recent comments suggest though that he will be given a chance at Liverpool eventually and plans on keeping him at the club. As reported by Liverpool Echo, the manager said:
"“Ben Davies had a test to adapt, it was always clear – a lot of players came here to Liverpool and the most famous story is maybe Andy Robertson.“It took him half a year in a normal season to settle in.“Ben is a really good player but he has to get used to all the stuff here as well.“What we have now is options and hopefully it will stay like this.”"
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Can Celtic sign Davies in the summer?
There is no doubt that Davies is a good player. But it is hard to see him starting at Liverpool ahead of the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, when they are back from their respective injuries.
It always felt like Davies was an emergency signing on the part of Liverpool, who have seen one player after the other go down with injury this season. And even then, the former Preston North End man is yet to play a single minute of football.
Thus, it is very possible that the opportunity could be there to bring him to Parkhead in the summer. Although, things can change in football very quickly and it might happen that he finds his feet at Liverpool before the end of the season, in which case, he will most certainly end up staying with the Premier League giants.