Should Celtic target Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick in hope of repeating Scott Sinclair trick?

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Celtic pulled off a transfer masterstroke signing Scott Sinclair from Aston Villa, so perhaps another Villan should be on their radar.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers may need to target a new defender this season

With Jozo Simunovic attracting attention from clubs in four different countries (via Daily Mail), Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers would be forgiven for considering adding to his options at the heart of defence in case the Croatian ends up departing.

While Rodgers’ desire to keep hold of Simunovic would suggest that he may have the funds to land a marquee name if they ultimately let him go, it may perhaps be worth the Hoops considering trying to repeat the trick that they pulled off when they signed Scott Sinclair from Aston Villa for just £3.5m last summer (via Daily Mail).

Like Sinclair was then, Tommy Elphick is enduring a difficult time at Villa Park currently, having fallen out of favour in Steve Bruce’s side, and with few fans particularly keen to see him return to the first-team anytime soon.

While the Villans fanbase seem to accept that he offers the kind of leadership that could be helpful during what they hope will be a promotion push next season, they probably would not mind if another club offered him the chance to move away this summer, just as they were largely content when they saw Sinclair leave for a decent fee last year.

Aston Villa’s Tommy Elphick

Of course, Elphick would probably not get close to making anything like the impact that Sinclair has during his first year in the Scottish Premiership – he is the division’s top goalscorer currently – but Brendan Rodgers could certainly turn his fortunes around in the same manner.

The 29-year-old boasts some Premier League experience and was quickly made captain at Villa Park following his arrival from Bournemouth, so that kind of leadership could make him a great addition to Celtic’s backline.

And having endured a difficult time with Villa, he may arrive at Parkhead with the same level of motivation to succeed that led to Sinclair becoming the best player in Scotland this term.