Lee Buchanan has found himself a wanted man at Derby and The Athletic journalist Kieran Devlin has now revealed to Derbyshire Live that he was in fact being chased by Celtic before the season started.

The player is out of contract at current club Derby at the end of the season and with the way he has been performing for the Rams, Wayne Rooney will not be too keen to see him depart Pride Park next summer.

However, with interest in his services rising, he may have no choice in the matter and could be waving goodbye to the defender when the current campaign comes to a close.

 

 

With the current financial situation at Derby, it has meant that the club do actively need to sell off some assets. Buchanan is certainly one of those assets that could have teams sniffing around him too, with the latest reports from The Sun claiming the SPL side Celtic are keen to bring him to the club.

These claims have now been substantiated by Scottish journalist Kieran Devlin, who has revealed that the team were in fact looking at bringing in the defender over the summer. No deal ultimately happened for the player but with fresh reports suggesting that there is still interest in the player from Celtic, there could be another tug-of-war between the Rams and the club in the winter window over his services.

Speaking to Derbyshire Live about the interest, Devlin said: "There was interest in the summer. [I] don't know myself if it's been resurrected, but having watched him on scouting platforms and looked at the stats, I'm (personally) skeptical (sic) he'd improve the first team."

Buchanan has been a mainstay in the Derby side so far this year, making 13 appearances so far in the league for Wayne Rooney's side. The 20-year-old has looked bright on the left for the Rams and he has certainly done something right to be impressing Celtic - and it looks like the interest from the Scottish side is correct, with the team having trailed after him over summer. Now, they'll likely be hoping to try and snap him up again in the winter window.

The Verdict

Lee Buchanan is a bright young player and could certainly be a sound addition to the Celtic team. Whether is instantly a starting performer for them or whether he would have to settle for being a squad player at first is another matter but he could certainly be a cheap and shrewd addition for them.

The defender has looked like one of the better players for the Rams so far this year and it is no wonder then that he is catching the eye. Wayne Rooney will not want to lose him but with their current situation, he may have no choice in the matter.