Report: Celtic fail with second bid for player; close to £700k

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Charlton Athletic have rejected a second bid worth £650,000 for star winger Alfie Doughty with Scottish Premiership champions Celtic hitting the buffers again, according to the Glasgow Evening Times.

The Addicks continue to jump from crisis to crisis off the field but, despite the uncertainty surrounding their ownership and the fact that Doughty has just one year left on his contract, the 20-year-old will not be heading anywhere on the cheap.

Celtic have already failed with a £400,000 offer and their second bid, worth almost £300,000 more, has also been tossed into the garbage with barely a second glance.

It remains to be seen how much the Hoops would have to pay, but surely a figure in the region of £1 million would be a little rich when you consider that Doughty will be a free agent in nine months’ time.

A left-sided forward with an explosive turn of pace, the youngster featured in a more defensive, full-back role at times for Charlton last season.

Perhaps Celtic see him as an attack-minded, overlapping full-back for Lennon’s preferred 3-5-2 system rather than an out-and-out winger a la Moi Elyounoussi and Mikey Johnston.

“We did turn down an offer from Celtic,” Bowyer said after the Glasgow giants scouted Doughty during a 3-1 EFL Cup victory against Swindon Town at the start of September, speaking to London News Online.

“In an ideal world, and this is just me speaking on how I would advise Alfie, it would be for him to sign another deal and do another year – do a full season with us.”

Doughty opened his account for 2020/21 with a typically electrifying burst forwards followed by the tidiest of finishes during Saturday’s 2-0 League One triumph over Crewe Alexandra.