Neil Lennon has blamed the lure of a Liverpool pay cheque for Celtic’s failure to secure Ben Davies.
Celtic have been linked with the defender since the summer, last week it was wrongly claimed by Sky Sports that a pre-contract deal had been signed although Lancs Live claimed that Celtic had emailed Preston to notify them of their interest in the defender who’ll be out of contract in June.
Had Celtic put in an offer of £1m plus a sell-on clause it may well have been accepted by Preston, last week Celtic sold Jeremie Frimpong to Bayer Leverkusen. Once Liverpool appeared on the scene it was no contest.
? “We got gazumped at the last minute by Liverpool. “
Neil Lennon happy to get Jonjoe Kenny on loan from #EvertonFC but disappointed to miss out on #Liverpool bound Ben Davies. #Celtic pic.twitter.com/HsjcWuzsZI
— PLZ Soccer (@PLZSoccer) February 1, 2021
Neil Lennon on Jonjoe Kenny – hoping to be done this afternoon
On Ben Davies – it’s a blow to miss out, financially more rewarding for player at Liverpool
On other signings – trying for centre half on loan
On Olivier Ntcham – interest in him, wouldn’t be surprised if he left— Sheelagh McLaren (@sheelaghmclaren) February 1, 2021
Liverpool’s interest in Davies emerged late on Sunday afternoon, with terms agreed with Preston and the player it is believed that he will undergo a medical today.
With Chris Jullien expected to be out of action until April at the earliest Celtic are very short on central defensive options. Nir Bitton and Shane Duffy have started the last two matches but the Israeli was injured in the defeat from St Mirren with Stephen Welsh coming on as his replacement.
