Celtic are believed to be leading the race to sign, young talent Veron Parkes from English Premier League side, West Ham.
The attacker, who is out of contract at the end of the season is a target who Celtic feel they can lure to the club for a minimal cross border compensation fee, according to Football Insider.
Neil Lennon’s side lead a host of different teams including Monaco and New York Red Bulls who want to sign the youngster.
The 18 year old, who had a scholarship contract at West Ham is set to end, on the 30th of June and the London based side, could not persuade him to sign a new deal at the club. Parkes, who also played for Crystal Palace is thought to have preferred a move to either Scotland or somewhere else abroad rather than England.
It is also thought that Parkes and his camp have taken huge influence from seeing the development of Dutch talent, Jeremie Frimpong and his rise to becoming a Celtic first team regular at right back.
With Frimpong starting out in the reserves and showing an incredible rise into the first team, it has shown Parkes that the move to Celtic may be one that could kick start his career, with a route into the first team.
The young forward can play upfront as a striker but also has the abilty to play on the wings, similar to current Celtic youngster, who was also brought in from down south, Armstrong Oko-Flex.
This season, for West Ham’s youth team, Parkes has scored 13 goals, providing six assists in only 19 games for the club. Due to his impressive record, he has also trained with the Hammers first team on a number of occasions.
