Celtic are set to offer West Brom midfielder Rekeem Harper a 'bumper contract' in a bid to bring him to Glasgow, Football Insider have reported.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who broke into the Baggies first team in the second half of last season, making 23 appearances in all for the Midlands side, is now out of contract at The Hawthorns, although he has been offered a new contract by West Brom after holding talks with newly appointed Baggies boss Slaven Bilic.

That means the Baggies will still be entitled to compensation for the midfielder should he chose to move on, although Celtic would have to pay just £250,000 for Harper, which is less than any English club would have to shell out for his development costs, due to cross-border regulations.

According to The Scottish Sun, the Scottish giants are facing competition from Premier League pair Liverpool and Tottenham, as well as Italian champions Juventus, in the battle for Harper's signature.

The verdict

I think this is a sensible move from Celtic.

Given the reduced price they will have to pay for Harper with regards to the compensation package, it makes sense that the club are willing to pay more to the player himself in order to bring him to the club.

With the potential that Harper has shown, it does make sense for them to push for this move, considering the size of the other clubs reportedly interested in the midfielder means that it may be difficult for Celtic to complete such a move in the future.

Taking all that into account, and the length of time speculation around his West Brom future has been going on for, it is starting to feel more and more likely that Harper will not be at the Hawthorns when the season begins again in a month's time.