West Brom ready to pay for permanent centre-back deal, Celtic in talks over loan – report
Celtic and Burnley have joined West Brom and West Ham in the race to sign Brighton centre-back Shane Duffy, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claims that Celtic boss Neil Lennon has held talks about signing Duffy, 28, on a season-long loan and the player is interested in the prospect of spending a year in the Scottish Premiership.
However, it is understood that the Bhoys are nowhere near reaching an agreement just yet and face stern competition from West Brom, who are prepared to pay a transfer fee to sign the Republic of Ireland international on a permanent basis.
Brighton are bound to be more interested in selling Duffy permanently rather than sending him out on loan.
Graham Potter has way too many centre-backs in his squad and it is likely that the Seagulls will sell a few of them before the summer transfer window closes.
Duffy made 21 appearances in all competitions last season and started just 12 Premier Legaue matches so it is not as though he is high up Potter’s defensive pecking order.
Ben White’s return to the AMEX after a season on loan at Leeds and the signing of Joel Veltman has added even more competition to the centre-back position on the south coast so Brighton would surely rather sell Duffy and get a transfer fee rather than loan him out.
West Brom could do with a new addition at centre-back and Duffy, who has 96 Premier League appearances and 33 caps for Ireland under his belt, is bound to add the experience and leadership qualities needed in Slaven Bilic’s back-line.
In other West Brom news, Atletico Madrid are set to sign a player who the Baggies wanted to bring in this summer.
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