West Ham United in Talks To Sign Highly-Rated Celtic Player
Celtic could be on the brink of seeing another player leave in the near future, as one of their up-and-coming strikers is drawing strong interest from Premier League's West Ham United.
The player in question is Daniel Cummings, who has been a standout for the B Team lately. According to Anthony Joseph, West Ham United are in talks to sign the Celtic striker on a pre-contract agreement.
West Ham United is not the only team to have shown interest either, with Portsmouth having also been intrigued by a move, and they would like him to be a part of their first-team squad.
According to the Daily Record, West Ham United are closing in on a pre-contract for Cummings, would can be signed for £300,000 in cross-border training compensation.
With Cummings' expiring contract and having been primarily kept at Celtic B, this is about the maximum they could receive for the young striker.
Over the past few seasons, Celtic have preferred to add via transfer predominantly, bringing in talent that is either near developed or has already developed rather than giving many chances to their youth talents.
With how competitive they have been in both SPFL play and even in the Champions League, it is no surprise that they would prefer to find players who have shown immense talent already and could be immediate starters.
Cummings did make his competitive debut in the match when Celtic took on Aston Villa in the Champions League recently, getting 12 minutes of playing time near the end of the contest. He had two touches and completed one of his two passes.
He has been an exceptional talent on Celtic B all season, having 18 goals in 18 appearances for the development side and another six in six appearances in the UEFA Youth League. Across all competitions he has 24 goals in 26 appearances this season according to Transfermarkt.
That is enormously impressive and a sign that Cummings is absolutely ready to start getting substantial playing time, whether it be with Celtic or otherwise.
This is a tough call for Celtic to make, as they do strongly need a striker prior to deadline day to fill the void left behind by Kyogo Furuhashi's move to Rennes. The issue is that with Champions League play ramping up and the race for another Scottish Premiership title on the line, it is hard to give a player with so little experience with the main squad consistent playing time.
Instead, Celtic might look towards an experienced transfer addition at the position instead, such as Kelechi Iheanacho from Sevilla.
Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.