According to the latest reports from the Sun, Brentford’s Rico Henry has emerged as one of the possible replacements for Kieran Tierney. Arsenal are currently locked in transfer talks with Celtic, and the Scottish side have already rejected two bids for the left-back.
Henry is being valued at £7m by Brentford. Celtic should have the financial power to pay that kind of fee if the sale of Tierney goes through in the next few hours. Injuries have halted Henry’s progress in the last few years, and the defender has only managed to make 37 appearances for Brentford since joining in 2016. The fullback was considered as one of the top talents in the Championship when he joined the Bees from Walsall.
The left-back would be keen to kick start his career, and he is currently fit and available. Henry was compared to legendary English fullback Ashley Cole during the initial phase of his career, but it’s fair to say that his career hasn’t reached such heights in the last few years.
What will Henry bring to the table?
Still 22, the former England u-20 international is an attack-minded fullback. He has got blistering pace, and by blistering, we mean crazy fast here. The left-back is also known to have a terrific work rate, but the jury is still out on whether he would be able to fulfil his potential after an injury setback. Henry is physically strong, and that should stand him in good stead in the Premiership.
A better option than Kingsley?
Celtic have also been linked with Hull City’s Stephen Kingsley. There is no doubt to us that Henry would suit Celtic more given his attacking style of play. Celtic dominated most of their games in the Premiership and fullbacks usually spend most of their time in the opposition half.
Worth £7m?
Celtic would probably want to reduce that price as Henry’s career has been hampered with injuries in the past few years. Therefore we think that the Hoops would be slightly sceptical about paying that kind of sum for the fullback. The defender started the first game of the Championship this season, so he is definitely in Brentford’s plan. Thus, there could be some struggle regarding the transfer fee for the defender.
With the English transfer window closing early, the club will be unlikely to send their players away as they won’t be able to bring in replacements. So it remains to be seen what would give in the next few days in the transfer window. We think that Henry should be worth somewhere around £3-4m.
