Celtic reportedly keen on Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori

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Celtic are reportedly keen to swoop in and land Chelsea youngster Fikayo Tomori.

Tomori has spent this season on loan at Derby County. He’s been the main centre-back partner for Richard Keogh in the Championship, and his season isn’t over yet. Derby have a playoff final to look forward to against Aston Villa on Monday.

Tomori has made a staggering 54 appearances for Derby this season. He’s proved to be a stalwart for the Rams, and according to the Sunday Mirror (19/05, p66), the Hoops are keen to test Chelsea’s resolve.

Dedryck Boyata of course leaves the club for Hertha Berlin after the Scottish Cup final. Filip Benkovic, meanwhile, will also head back to Leicester City. So Celtic will have their defensive concerns heading into the summer.

Tomori perhaps isn’t a player fans will have heard much about. But he’s been absolutely flying for Frank Lampard’s Derby side this season.

His loan spell at Derby isn’t his first either. At 21 years of age, Tomori has been farmed out to clubs such as Brighton and Hull City too. He’s had a fair bit of experience at Championship level.

Breaking into the Chelsea squad, however, has been too much of an ask for the youngster. In what seems to be a growing trend at the London club, the youngster just doesn’t have the quality to displace the likes of David Luiz.

Defensive targets a necessity

We all know the importance of defensive targets this summer. Celtic are looking like being woefully short in several positions at the back heading into the close-season

But you have to wonder just how believable signing targets are at the moment. We don’t even have a permanent manager for next year. Therefore, unless this is coming from Neil Lennon, it’s difficult to believe.

The Northern Irishman hasn’t yet been confirmed as the permanent manager, and it’s not exactly a certainty he will either. Performances have been below par for a while now, but Lennon does look likely to secure the treble treble.

Lennon has shown a desire to plan ahead for next season regardless. He was in Paris last month looking at potential targets for next season (Scottish Sun). He certainly doesn’t seem ready to just sit and wait before planning for who he wants in the door.

Tomori looks like he could be a fine addition, especially considering he’s a ball-playing defender too. But until we get a new manager, all signing targets aren’t likely to be progressed.