Celtic are interested in a move for Carlisle United defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
The Scottish Premiership champions are monitoring the progress of the teenager, according to a report by Football Insider.
Branthwaite, who is 17 years-old, is catching plenty of attention for the League Two side this season and has also been linked with Premier League side Aston Villa over the past couple of days.
Carlisle remain in the hunt for a new manager to replace Steven Pressley, who was sacked after a poor start to the season. The likes of Michael Bridges and Owen Coyle are in the running for the vacant position.
Whoever the new Cumbrians boss is will face a major battle to hold on to their highly-rated centre-back in the upcoming January transfer window.
Branthwaite signed a new deal in February so is contracted at Brunton Park until 2022, though it won’t stop the big guns from circling.
The Carlisle-born defender joined his local side at the age of eight and has risen up through their academy. He made his first team debut in October in a league fixture away to Plymouth Argyle having been on the bench on a handful of occasions last season and the start of this term.
Branthwaite has started Carlisle’s last five league matches and looks to have a bright future in the game as scouts flock to Cumbria to see what he is about.
