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This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

Celtic are looking to bring in Rico Henry should Kieran Tierney depart for Arsenal, according to The Scottish Sun.

What's the story?

Brentford left-back Henry has been earmarked as a potential signing by Neil Lennon should he lose Tierney to Arsenal this summer, per the report. With the English window closing on Thursday we will soon know if the Scot will be a Celtic player for the coming season.

The Bees defender would cost a sum of £7m, according to the report, in what would be a significant outlay for the Celts, even if they do get the £25m that they expect for the services of Tierney.

Celtic have one recognised left-back at the club in Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, who himself has only just arrived this summer in a £3m transfer from Austrian side Rapid Vienna.

A big gamble

At £7m Henry would be a massive outlay for the club. The Bhoys have brought in Christopher Jullien this summer already and even with a potential windfall through the sale of Tierney, it would be unusual to see such large sums spent by the club in one window - they have not eclipsed £15m of spending in a single window in over a decade.

Whenever the Hoops have spent these sort of sums in the past it has tended to be on central players who will improve the spine of the team, with spending much more reserved for those on the periphery of the game. It would be unusual to see such an outlay on a left-back, but given the swollen fees in football, it wouldn't be completely staggering.

If he were to be brought in for a fee as big as £7m you'd have to assume he'd want to become one of the top earners at the club. This wouldn't be ridiculous fur such a big transfer but with a new multi-million-pound left-back already at the club, it would be strange to invest even more wages (and a big fee) into another left-sided defender.

In Bolingoli-Mbombo, Celtic have an expensive acquisition who will expect to play a prominent role, especially if Tierney finds pastures new. The 24 year-old has also made a good impression on his new fans early on.

It would be wise for Lennon to look elsewhere if Tierney goes, perhaps at an experienced free agent who can support Bolingoli-Mbombo, because at £7m, Henry requires a massive outlay for someone that wouldn't even be a guaranteed first-choice in the position.

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