Celtic look to have already cast one eye on their potential summer transfer activity under Brendan Rodgers.
Earlier this week, reports emerged from south of the border indicating that the Bhoys are keen on Queens Park Rangers defender Jake Clarke-Salter, who has enjoyed an impressive campaign at Loftus Road.
Rodgers will have a fight on his hands to land the highly-rated Chelsea academy graduate, who is also attracting attention from Premier League trio Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace and Burnley.
Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town are another side keen on Clarke-Salter amid the possibility that they could be a top-flight outfit next term.
This term, the ex-England Under-21 international has featured 29 times in all competitions, registering a solitary goal against Huddersfield Town [Transfermarkt].
Per Fotmob, Clarke-Salter has earned an average match rating of 7.01/10 for his displays on league duty, winning 39 tackles, 159 duels and making 118 recoveries.
His status as a left-sided defender could cast doubt on Liam Scales’ future at Parkhead; however, did you know Clarke-Salter once rejected advances from Rangers under Steven Gerrard?
Celtic target Jake Clarke-Salter could’ve ended up at Ibrox
Ironically, we head to Ibrox this weekend to take on Rangers, which is a humorous coincidence amid the fact that Clarke-Salter could’ve once ended up at our rivals while starting out at Chelsea.
Per The Guardian, he held discussions with Steven Gerrard over a loan move to our rivals in the summer of 2018 before instead opting to join Vitesse Arnhem, a destination that proved to be a stepping stone to first-team involvement at Stamford Bridge for the likes of Mason Mount and Nemanja Matic.
At the time, Clarke-Salter actually spoke to the outlet about his motivations behind moving to the Eredivisie club, stating: “I think it’s the regular game time that is important to us. That’s the main thing – playing games can open up so many opportunities. Mason is an example of that. He didn’t play much for the first couple of months at Vitesse, then all of a sudden, he ripped the league apart.”
Fast forward to 2024, and he is finally making a name for himself at Loftus Road amid a spate of loan spells away from his parent club at Sunderland, Coventry City, Birmingham City (twice), and Bristol Rovers.
Cameron Carter-Vickers had a similar experience with the English loan system before ending up at Parkhead. It would be a heel turn of seismic proportions if Clarke-Salter were to do the same.