Celtic have been handed a potentially significant boost in their pursuit of Liverpool defender Ben Davies.

What's the story?

The Hoops have been chasing the 25-year-old centre-back for several months now, with their interest originating when he was still a Preston North End player.

After deciding to move to Anfield over Parkhead back in January, Davies failed to make a solitary appearance for the Reds and is set to depart the club without playing a single minute, according to the Scottish Sun.

Ange Postecoglou will love him

Jurgen Klopp brought the Englishman to Merseyside in a £1.6m deal following season-ending injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, but fitness issues of his own saw Davies sidelined for the entire second half of 2020/21.

With the trio set to return to action ahead of the upcoming campaign, plus the arrival of Ibrahima Konate and the emergence of Nat Phillips, opportunities are expected to be extremely limited for the central defender, meaning Liverpool are open to his exit.

Celtic may have to move quickly in order to secure Davies' signature, though, with recently-relegated Sheffield United also believed to be keen on the experienced Championship man after Brighton’s Matt Clarke opted to sign for West Brom instead of them.

The lure of European football and the potential to win some silverware may make the Glasgow giants a more attractive option than the Blades, and new Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou will be hoping that that's the case.

Postecoglou is known to prefer his sides play a passing game, recently emphasizing that he wants Celtic to play one or two-touch football during an open mic training session.

Davies is known for being competent with the ball at his feet and particularly adept at playing long passes, meaning the Australian tactician would surely love to have the Liverpool man in Glasgow.

The £60k-per-week defender was previously labelled as 'different class’ for his performances whilst at Southport, with their manager Paul Carden lavishing praise on the 6 ft gem in an interview with The Athletic.

“He was a different class, and I did think he’d get in Preston’s first team. If you’d have asked me whether he’d sign for Liverpool, I probably wouldn’t have said so.”

Only time will tell if the Celtic hierarchy follow up their interest in Davies with a concrete offer, but Postecoglou and the club's supporters will surely be urging them to get this deal over the line.

And, in other news...Celtic agree deal for £4.5m Ajer replacement, he's a big upgrade on Duffy