Celtic are reportedly keen on a move for Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham. The Welsh Internationalist has one year remaining on his deal with the Premier League side and Brendan Rodgers is said to be very keen on adding quality to his backline with Mepham.
The 26-year-old made just 13 appearances for the Cherries during the last campaign but missed two chunks of the season due to injury. A report from Mail Online’s Stephen McGowan states that Celtic are keen on signing the defender with Rodgers said to be keen on the player – who has an £8m valuation on their head.
Celtic have Cameron Carter-Vickers as their first pick central defender and Liam Scales emerged as the preferred candidate to partner the American Internationalist. However, Stephen Welsh, Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke all struggled to make an impact when handed starts by the manager. Lagerbielke is expected to be moved on; although, it is clear that the manager wants to strengthen his backline with a new central defender. CCV and Mepham actually played together for Bournemouth in the Championship and have shown that they can play together.
Another player that the club could consider is Scotland Internationalist Scott McKenna, who was released by Nottingham Forest earlier this week. The 27-year-old spent the second half of the season at Copenhagen but has previously been linked with a move to Celtic Park.
Rodgers and the Celtic recruitment team have wasted no time in getting underway with their efforts ahead of the new season. Negotiations are underway with Benfica for the permanent signing of Paulo Bernardo with a £3.5m fee being discussed.
