Celtic will make a third and final bid in excess of £600,000 for Alfie Doughty before the transfer window closes, The Daily Record has reported on Saturday.
The Bhoys have already failed with two offers for the Charlton talent but are interested enough to make one final play and hopefully bring him to Celtic Park.
The paper goes on to report that if this bid is unsuccessful, it will be the final one that the Scottish champions make for the player.
Doughty is out of contract at the end of the season and Celtic don’t way to pay over the odds when they can speak to him on a pre-contract basis in January.
It’s said in the report that in the event this happens, Neil Lennon and his recruitment team will pursue a loan signing for the left-back/left wing-back position.
The 20-year-old has previously been described as a ‘tremendous footballer’, who possesses ‘pace and quality’, by one of his former managers.
He has also earned praise from former Celtic favourite Aiden McGeady, who played with him at the Valley last season.
The youngster looks to have the profile of someone who could perform that hybrid role on the left flank in Lennon’s 3-5-2 formation, potentially replacing Boli Bolingoli who has left on loan and Greg Taylor, who is more suited to being an outright left-back.
Doughty has played both at left midfield and in defence before and clearly Celtic see something they like in the player.
Similar to Jeremie Frimpong, his pace and direct nature could be the kind of spark that allows the Bhoys to penetrate low block defensive lines.
Hopefully a deal can be struck over the coming nine days.
In other news, Celtic’s playoff against Sarajevo is set to be played in a different stadium and city.
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