CELTIC REIGNITE INTEREST IN DAVIES

CELTIC have reignited their interest in former target Ben Davies.

The Hoops lost out in the £2million pursuit of the Preston central defender when Liverpool swooped with a last-gasp offer to take the 25-year-old Englishman to Anfield in January.

However, Davies has grown unsettled with the lack of game time at the Merseyside outfit and has yet to figure in Jurgen Klopp’s first team.

The solid back-four left-sided operator will also drop down the pecking order when former Parkhead ace Virgil van Dijk returns following his long-term injury that devastated the Dutchman’s campaign at club and country level. Joe Gomez is also getting ready to make his comeback.

Klopp is willing to sell Davies at a profit, but Ange Postecoglou may prefer to take the centre-back on a season-long loan although other English sides – including Bournemouth – are monitoring the situation, according to a report in the Daily Mail.

The Hoops gaffer is desperate to sign at least one pivot before the Champions League second round qualifier against Danish runners-up FC Midtjylland a week on Tuesday in Glasgow with the return leg due eight days later in Denmark.

Postecoglou has identified central defence, right-back and wingers as priority positions.

Rubin Kazan defender Carl Starfelt, Spurs’ Cameron Carter-Vickers and wide man Kyle Edwards, who has quit West Brom at the end of his contract, have already been linked with the club while interest in Hajduk Split’s 19-year-old centre-half Mario Vuskovic appears to have cooled.

Kristoffer Ajer is expected to leave this summer with Norwich City reported to be ready to bid £12million for the 23-year-old Norwegian international, but that may still be short of the club’s asking price.