Scottish Premiership champions Celtic reportedly wanted to sign Frank Lampard favourite Fikayo Tomori from Chelsea.
A lot has changed since Celtic were first linked with Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori.
Back in May, the Mirror (19th, page 66) claimed that The Hoops wanted to sign the England U21 international to fill the void created by the departures of both Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic.
And, at the time, the deal seemed possible. Tomori had shone on loan at Derby County during the 2018/19 season, winning the Rams’ Player of the Year award, and his ball-playing style appeared to make him a perfect fit for a Celtic side who tend to dominate possession.
But, with just a few weeks to go until the new Premier League campaign kicks off, don’t expect to see Tomori on his way to Glasgow any time soon.
Frank Lampard’s return to Stamford Bridge was always likely to benefit the 21-year-old, who worked with the new Chelsea boss at Derby after all. And, sure enough, Tomori has featured regularly in pre-season under Lampard.
According to the Standard, his price-tag has soared to £20 million. Celtic would have had to double their transfer record to sign him.
A season-long loan deal has been all-but written off too. If Chelsea do let Tomori spend the 2018/19 campaign away from West London, they want him to prove himself in the Premier League by joining a top flight rival.
Fortunately for Celtic, £7 million Christopher Jullien should ease the disappointment of missing out on one of England’s top young defenders.
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