Ste Hoare 
Mark Runnacles/Getty Images Sport
Last week, it was reported that Celtic were interested in signing forward Veron Parkes from West Ham United and according to a joint report from Roshane Thomas and Kieran Devlin in The Athletic today, the player is interested in making a move to the Scottish champions.
The 18-year-old has apparently rejected the offer of a two-year professional contract from the Hammers as he thinks he can play regular first-team games elsewhere and it looks like he has his eyes on a move to Parkhead.
The teenager has apparently been impressed with Celtic’s willingness to take young players from Premier League youth set-ups and give them first-team opportunities, with Jeremie Frimpong being one of the examples of such a transfer.
The player is apparently keen to leave England in search of first-team action and whilst he looks to be favouring a move to Celtic, other clubs like Heerenveen, Fortuna Sittard, and the New York Red Bulls are all interested in him too, as per The Athletic report.
As it stands, Parkes will be a free agent at the end of June, although any club who signs him will need to pay West Ham a compensatory development fee.
Read Celtic Verdict
Despite not playing in the West Ham first-team yet, Parkes has a growing reputation after his performances for the Hammers’ U18s, where he’s scored 11 goals and had six assists in just 14 U18 Premier League clashes.
In a summer where the transfer market is almost certain to be impacted by the global pandemic, Celtic may find their policy of signing youngsters in the past works to their advantage this summer as they are now an attractive proposition to upcoming stars and as such, they may be able to attract such players, even if competition for such signings increases.
