Celtic look set to welcome Preston’s Ben Davies to the club this summer, with the centre-back signing a pre-contract agreement with the Scottish Premiership champions.

Neil Lennon has made no secret of his desire to bolster his defensive options following the news star defender Christopher Jullien will potentially miss the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury. Meanwhile, starlet Jeremie Frimpong has secured a lucrative move to Bayern Leverkusen.

With the ever-present Kristoffer Ajer linked with a potential move away from the club, the need for reinforcements at Celtic Park has become clear, and Lennon looks to have secured his first summer arrival.

Preston centre-back Ben Davies has emerged as one of the best defenders in the Championship in recent years, however, with the 25-year-old’s current deal at North End set to expire in the summer, a number of clubs have lodged their interest.

Boss Alex Neil has done all he can to persuade Davies to remain the club, though it seems his pleas have fallen on deaf ears, with Sky Sports reporting that the defender has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Hoops which will see him move north of the border this summer.

The deal represents a coup for the Bhoys with Sheffield United, Bournemouth and even Genk all rumoured to have been pursuing the 25-year-old.

Davies has been with Preston since the age of 11 and has gone onto make 126 appearances for the club. Having been shipped out on loan to a number of lower league sides including York City and Tranmere Rovers, he cemented his place in the Preston starting XI in 2017 and has been a mainstay of the side ever since.

Various reports suggest Celtic are keen fast track the move and welcome Davies prior to the closing of the January transfer window, however, for now the defender will have to wait until the summer to head for Celtic Park.