Celtic have missed out on signing Ben Pearson with the Preston midfielder finalising a move to Bournemouth.
Pearson has dropped out of the Preston team in recent weeks with manager Alex Neil admitting that he was preparing for life without the midfielder that started out at Manchester United before moving to Deepdale via a loan spell at Barnsley.
Breaking: Bournemouth have agreed terms with Preston North End’s Ben Pearson.
The midfielder is expected on the south-coast in the next 24 hours to complete a medical and finalise the deal.
Pearson has played 9 Championship games this season.
— Mark McAdam (@markmcadamtv) January 28, 2021
Celtic are interested in signing Preston North End central midfielder Ben Pearson on a pre-contract.@SkySportsNews understands that initial contact has been made for the 25-year-old, whose current contract expires in the summer.
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) January 1, 2021
Celtic are expected to have a major overhaul in the summer with midfield a key area. Olivier Ntcham and Ryan Christie will have a year left on their contracts with Scott Brown turning 36 in June.
With over 150 appearances for Preston in the Championship Bournemouth are getting a midfielder ready made for their promotion push while Preston pick up a fee for a player who would have left as a free agent in the summer.
Celtic have emailed Preston to express their interest in defender Ben Davies who is also out of contract at the end of this season.