Celtic in the driving seat to wrap up deal for impressive EFL ace

Preston North End look set to lose Ben Davies to Celtic, with a move to link up with the Scottish giants seemingly inevitable. 

Davis has allowed his contract at Deepdale to run into its final six months and Celtic’s interest means that they could strike a pre-contract agreement with the Preston star.

As per Tom Barclay at The Sun, a move to Celtic is a matter of when, not if, at this moment in time.

However, the question mark that surrounds the deal is which transfer window it will happen in.

Celtic are pushing for it to happen this January, but there’s no guarantee of that happening and it might end up going through in the summer transfer window.

Understand Preston's Ben Davies is set to join Celtic – it's just a matter of when. Celtic pushing to bring him in now rather than the summer, but it's not guaranteed

— Tom Barclay (@TomBarclay_) January 28, 2021

Davies, 25, has made 18 appearances for North End in the Championship this season and has come on leaps and bounds under the watch of Alex Neil.

Since progressing through the Preston academy via a host of loans, Davies has made 144 appearances across all competitions for the Lilywhites and scored twice.

Neil has had Davies at the heart of defence in Preston’s last two fixtures, which have brought back-to-back clean sheets.

The Verdict 

Davies is a really good signing for Celtic, particularly when you consider he will be arriving on a free or for a very minimal fee.

At 25, he’s got his best years at centre-back ahead of him, which is only encouraging given how good he’s been recently for Preston.

They will be gutted to be losing him, but poor management of the player’s contract has put them in this situation.

Neil will be very frustrated.

Thoughts? Let us know!