Celtic are set to complete the loan signing of Brentford defender Benjamin Arthur on loan, according to a report.
Martin O’Neill’s main priority for Deadline Day has been a centre-back, with two attackers set to be announced having already agreed deals.
Joel Mvuka is set to join Celtic from Lorient for £3 million, whilst Junior Adamu has agreed a straight loan from Freiburg.
Stephen Welsh has been waiting for the green light to return to Motherwell, with this only possible if the Hoops can add a defender before the deadline.
And that defender seems to be arriving in the form of Benjamin Arthur.
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Celtic set to sign Benjamin Arthur from Brentford
According to the Richmond & Twickenham Times, Arthur is ‘set’ to complete a loan move to Celtic.
The two clubs are reportedly set to agree a deal for the 20-year-old, who has made just three appearances for the Bees this season.
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The deal will reportedly not have an obligation to buy, instead simply a straight loan move until the end of the season.
Arthur has never played a Premier League minute and has never had a loan spell before. He has appeared twice in the EFL Cup, and once in the FA Cup.
Brentford don’t have an academy. Instead, they sign young players on the cheap from elsewhere in the UK, nurturing them in their B Team system.
Kristoffer Ajer is one of the defenders ahead of Arthurs in the pecking order at the G-tech stadium. He has been named on the bench for multiple league matches this campaign.
But after the bizarre loan signing of Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Hoops fans will take some convincing that Arthur is an upgrade to the Celts’ defensive options.
Aurele Amenda and Jamie Lawrence are among the defenders previously targeted by the Hoops. The Scottish deadline is at 11PM UK time.
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Martin O’Neill on Celtic’s Stephen Welsh
Speaking about Welsh’s Celtic future earlier in the month, O’Neill told BBC Radio Scotland, “We’ll see, if you didn’t mind tonight, it’s not really heavily in my thoughts. He’s a really good lad. He trained with us the other day. We’ll see.
“We’ll have a little look at that situation. I didn’t realise this at the time. Obviously, I’m not favoured with all of the rules, quite a few have been made up since I was last managing.
“But we had to recall otherwise, if it went past a certain date, then you couldn’t do that. Stephen has had a really great time at Motherwell.
“He’s enjoying himself immensely. And yeah, and if he ends up staying with us, then battle on to try and get into the side.”
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