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Celtic could play blinder by signing Harper so cheaply

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OPINION

Celtic could be striking gold if they are able to sign West Brom midfielder Rekeem Harper in the summer, especially as it has been reported that the Scottish champions would only have to pay £235,000 in compensation fees.

The Express & Star has reported that West Brom have tabled their final contract offer to Harper, whose current agreement expires at the end of June.

It is understood that if the 19-year-old does quit The Hawthorns then Celtic are a team that would be willing to take him on in the summer transfer window.

Harper is already said to have travelled north of the border to watch Neil Lennon’s side lift the Scottish Premiership trophy on Sunday and has been given a “VIP tour” by the Glasgow giants.

He would no doubt be a superb signing for Celtic, especially for such a low compensation fee, and there is a good chance that the Scottish club could either make a massive profit on the player, or turn him into a key first teamer for years to come.

Harper enjoyed a solid season with West Brom in the Championship.

The teenager scored one goal and supplied one assists in 23 appearances across all competitions as he slowly but surely started to break into the plans of both Darren Moore and interim boss James Shan.

According to stats by WhoScored, Harper had the best pass success percentage (85.4%) for any player with over five appearances for West Brom this season and also averaged 1.2 dribbles-per-match, a stat that is only beaten by Albion’s wide players like Harvey Barnes, who left in January, and Matt Phillips.

Celtic have struggled in the centre of their midfield this season with players like Olivier Ntcham and Scott Brown not performing as well as they had done earlier in Brendan Rodgers’ reign at Parkhead.

Harper might not be good enough to become a regular start in the Celtic starting line-up just yet but he is only 19, and has impressed in what has been a budding career for him to date.

Clubs in the Premier League would pay a premium for technically-gifted English youngsters like Harper and Celtic can exploit that to the max if the midfielder eventually comes good for them.

But for the next few years he would prove to be a great asset as the Bhoys aim to seal 10 league titles in a row.

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