According to the latest reports from Daily Record, Huddersfield Town have put up a price tag of £4m for their right back, Tommy Smith. Celtic are said to be interested in the fullback, and they are hoping to land him for somewhere around £3m. Championship outfit Stoke City are also said to be in the mix, but they too are likely to be reluctant to pay Huddersfield’s asking price.
Celtic’s right back woes
It is no surprise to see the Bhoys looking for a right back after securing some crucial signings. As things stand, the club only has Anthony Ralston as a right back option who has only made eight appearances in the Premiership so far. With Champions League qualifiers set to begin soon, Lennon would want to have a new right back at the club.
Mikael Lustig had that position for the last few years, but the Swedish defender’s career was on a downward trajectory. Celtic allowed him to run down his contract and leave for free. The club brought in Jeremy Toljan on loan from Dortmund in January with a lot of hope, but the German’s performance was below par.
There seems to be no possibility that Celtic will go after him in the summer again. From the fringes of the squad, Cristian Gamboa also parted ways with the club who could also play as a right back.
So there is no doubt that the situation is dire at Parkhead at the moment in terms of right-back options. Lennon would hope that Smith would be a good signing for them.
Should Celtic pay £4m?
The fullback is in the last year of his contract with the Terriers, but Huddersfield does have an option to extend for another year. Going by today’s market, we think that Celtic can look to pay £4m for Smith who has got plenty of experience of playing at the Championship level and he gained some valuable playing time in the Premier League as well.
Regarding whether Celtic should go after the player, it probably depends on what kind of right back Neil Lennon wants? Smith is a reliable player, but he doesn’t have the x-factor while going forward. The Englishman would more often than not put in a good performance at the back, but he might not be that effective in attack. We think that the 27-year-old is the right mix and would be a handy signing for that price. However, if Lennon feels that if he wats a more attack-minded fullback, then he might be reluctant to pay £4m for Smith.
