CELTIC face a straight battle with West Ham United for the signature of Shane Duffy. The Irishman is wanted by both clubs on a loan deal and Celtic will hope that the emotion pull off a move to the club will beat off any other interest and land a move to the 10IAR chasers.
The Daily Record is reporting that it will be between Celtic and West Ham and that the Hammers are willing to pay a permanent fee for the player. But this is contrary to the news from a leading West Ham account. The highly reliable Twitter account ExWHUemployee gave Hammers fans the news last week that it was between the Scottish Champions and the London club for the deal but that the Hammers were only willing to loan the player with budget constraints in place.
The 28-year-old is a hardened pro and he would bring a degree of experience and leadership to the backline. Duffy has Premier League experience and would be an impressive signing for the club, allowing them the ability to play 3-5-2 when need be as well as rotating the backline.
Hopefully there will be more in the next few days about Duffy, even if it is negative then the club can move onto a new target and us, a new rumour. Duffy is a Celtic supporter and will know exactly what 10IAR means to the club and supporters.
Celtic would need to pay £2m in a loan deal fee as well as the majority of the Derry-born defender’s wages. The club might hope that Neil Lennon’s powers of persuasion would entice him into a move to Glasgow. Although the Record’s report states that the fee required is a mere £5m, which could be manageable when you consider it would be £2m in loan fee plus wages.
