Ex-Celtic player Charlie Nicholas has made his case for his former club to make Hibernian fullback Josh Doig their top target for the January transfer window.
The Hoops are expected to strengthen their options on the left flank and, while the 19-year-old could be an expensive purchase, Nicholas believes the defender would be worth the outlay:
“The backline was exposed again in Europe with the defeat in Bayer Leverkusen. There will remain question marks when Celtic play the top teams and they are still chasing Rangers in the league. They need a left-back and I would go for Doig at Hibs. He has just signed a new contract so it would have to be a decent transfer fee but he is one for the future.”
“I see him in the Kieran Tierney mould and if he keeps developing he will get better and better. Celtic can’t go out and buy the finished article. They need to develop players and sell them on. That is the Celtic model.”
Doig is undoubtedly a promising young fullback and the comparison to Tierney, who left Parkhead for £25m in 2019, is a fair one, but it does seem as though manager Ange Postecoglou is looking at other options.
Reports in the Scottish media suggest that Celtic are accelerating their efforts to snap up Reo Hatate from Kawasaki Frontale. While the Japanese international can also play in midfield, his main position is left-back. With his contract expiring at the end of January too, he would certainly be a much cheaper option than Doig.
Nicholas suggests that Celtic could sign both but, with Hibs valuing Doig at around £5m, as well as having attracted interest from EPL clubs like Arsenal and Watford, it is unlikely that he will be pursued.
