Why now is the perfect time for Celtic to move for Ben Davies

By David Walton

June 6, 2022

As Celtic continue to hunt for centre-back options, the potential availability of Liverpool’s Ben Davies should certainly pique our interest.

Davies of course looked to be signing for Celtic back in January 2021 only for Liverpool to swoop in at the death and secure him from Preston. At the time, it was a major blow for Neil Lennon, who failed to bring in a replacement given the late hour.

However, fast forward just under 18 months and Davies’ career at Anfield has probably gone as you would expect. He hasn’t made a single appearance for the first-team since his arrival and was sent out on loan to Sheffield United back in the summer.

The 26-year-old would make 22 appearances for the Blades in the Championship. However, the Liverpool Echo believes that financial issues will halt them from signing him permanently. The newspaper does claim that he’s up for sale this summer, and it remains to be seen if there’s any interest from Celtic Park.

Indeed, Celtic are reportedly on the hunt for a centre-back, and that’s regardless of whether Cameron Carter-Vickers signs on or not [The Athletic]. The timing here couldn’t be more perfect either given everything that’s happening at Parkhead just now.

Carl Starfelt’s injury makes it seem unlikely that he’ll be fit and firing from the start of the season. Especially given it’s likely a hamstring blow he’s unfortunately picked up.

Ben Davies to Celtic would be a fine move for all parties

In addition to that, Davies plays the kind of football Ange Postecoglou wants from his centre-backs. He’s a ball-playing defender who’s comfortable in bringing it out and playing as part of a high line. He has the pace to get back and recover when necessary, which could make him a valuable asset to the Hoops [The Independent].

Davies is now an example of a player who’s tasted the bright lights of the EPL and realised that the grass isn’t always greener down south. He’s effectively lost over a year of his career and will surely now see the benefit of a move to Celtic Park more than he did in 2021.

The Hoops now also have UCL football, which is something Davies has never experienced in his career. He may have made some matchday squads with Liverpool, but he didn’t play a single minute of them. The prospect of playing the best European football has to offer in Glasgow would undoubtedly be appealing to him.

Granted, there will be some who believe you never give a player a second chance to join Celtic. That if they’ve turned it down in the past then that should be that. But let’s not pretend we haven’t done it before. If it fits, there’s no reason we should allow that to stop them.

Another potential pitfall could be the potential fee Liverpool may want for Davies. That’s still to be made clear. But considering they nabbed him for a reported £2m [The Independent] – it’s difficult to see them wanting much more than that given his stock has dropped since then.

It all just makes sense at this point in time. Davies is now a good fit for Celtic just as Celtic is a good fit for him. TIme will tell whether Ange sees him as a potential solution to our centre-back depth issue. If he’s available and affordable however? Why not?

In other news, Celtic defender again bafflingly snubbed for international start last night