Northern Ireland midfielder Shea Charles is on the radar of Scottish giants Celtic, who could make a move to bring him to Parkhead for the new season.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is understood to be a big fan of the former Manchester City prospect and is eager on making the now Southampton star part of his squad.
Charles started 15 of the Saints’ Championship games last year on their way to promotion to the Premier League via the Play-Offs.
Despite having a contract until 2027 at St Mary’s, Celtic are understood to still be interested and would be willing to pay top dollar to make the Northern Ireland star a Hoop before the start of their Premiership title defence.
Rodgers could even be tempted by an initial loan move, like they have done with Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Paulo Bernardo in the past, before pursuing a longer term deal.
Charles’ arrival could also facilitate the departure of Matt O’Riley, who is wanted by Southampton, and it could even be that a swap deal could be negotiated for the two players.
However, Celtic may yet move for the 17-times capped Northern Ireland star regardless of whether O’Riley leaves in this transfer window.
Manchester-born Charles made one appearance for Manchester City, a substitute appearance in the final game of the 2022/23 Premier League season against Brentford, before joining Southampton last season.
The youngster was a key contributor for the Saints in the Championship until the arrival of Flynn Downes in the January transfer window, which limited his game time to just four starts after the turn of the year.
With Downes now having made his loan move permanent, the path to game time for Charles looks slightly less clear cut than it was previously, so a switch to Celtic could appeal to him, too.