By Danny Wright

30th Apr, 2017 | 9:44am

Report: Aston Villa eye swoop for Belgian, Bruce wants smash-and-grab raid

By Danny Wright

Championship club Aston Villa are planning a shock move for Celtic goalkeeper Logan Bailly in the summer, according to a report.

The Scottish Sun claims that Steve Bruce is keen on going into talks with the 31-year-old ‘keeper over a move to Villa Park to become his new No 1.

The eight-time Belgian international has only made five appearances in all competitions for Celtic since his 2015 move from OH Leuven and is clearly below Craig Gordon and Dorus De Vries in Brendan Rodgers’ plans.

Bailly, formerly of Borussia Monchengladbach and Genk, hasn’t played a single minute for the Bhoys this season and has only been selected as a substitute on five occasions as most of his time has been spent playing for the Under-20s squad.

It is understood that he is now set to leave the Glasgow giants in the summer.

Aston Villa have limited goalkeeping options and No 1 choice Sam Johnstone is currently on loan from Manchester United.

The Telegraph reported in March that the West Midlands outfit were willing to pay United £3million to turn Johnstone’s deal into a permanent one.

Jed Steer and Mark Bunn are the only other two ‘keepers currently at Villa Park, while Pierluigi Gollini is on loan at Serie A club Atalanta until the end of next season after signing an 18-month temporary deal in January.

Football Insider Verdict

If Aston Villa really want to sign a good goalkeeper then they should really look at pursuing their interest in Johnstone. The United loanee is a good, young English prospect who has looked promising in his recent performances for the Championship club. Bailly has endured a tough couple of seasons at Celtic Park, such is the life of a back-up goalkeeper. This could have seriously inhibited his abilities to perform in senior competitive football and Villa should steer clear of this deal. Rodgers clearly has no intention of making Bailly his No 1, or even No 2, shot-stopper any time soon, so it is definitely best if he decides to cash in on him in the summer.

In other Celtic news, Scott Sinclair has hit out at  Rangers fan on his Twitter account.

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