Celtic, Stuttgart and FC Cologne are all interested in signing Preston North End defender Ben Davies on a pre-contract in January according to The Sun's Tom Barclay.

Davies has made 120 appearances for Preston, and will be hoping to have his future resolved at the earliest of opportunities ahead of the new league season.

The central defender made 38 appearances in total last term for North End, as they missed out on a top-six finish in the Championship.

Alex Neil's side finished ninth in the second-tier standings, and will be hoping they can mount a serious challenge for promotion into the Premier League this season.

Davies is out-of-contract in the summer of 2021, and it appears as though there are a number of teams reportedly interested in agreeing a deal in January.

Preston are set to take on Swansea City at Deepdale in their first game of the 2020/21 season, in what is certain to be a tricky test for Davies and his team-mates.

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The Verdict: 

I'm not surprised to hear that he's attracting interest this summer.

Davies has shown that he's a solid option to have in the heart of defence, and I think he'd be more than capable of making the step up to either Celtic, Stuttgart or FC Cologne.

It'll be interesting to see whether this prompts Preston to try and tie him down to a new contract in the near future, as he's a player with a promising future ahead of him.

But with the likes of Celtic reportedly interested in landing his signature, you have to imagine that the Lilywhites might be fighting a losing battle to keep him at the club.