Wayne Veysey

Tue 24 January 2017 8:02, UK

By Alex Stevens

Celtic are rivalling Premier League big guns for the signing of Scottish wonderkid Tony Gallacher, according to a report.

The Mail claim the runaway Scottish Premiership leaders are ready to go toe to toe with the biggest clubs down south for the Falkirk left-back.

It is said that the second-tier club are braced for bids in the final week of the transfer window for the 17-year-old after he was heavily scouted by the European elite.

Falkirk have placed a £750,000 price tag on the Scotland Under-19 international after he earned rave reviews since breaking into the first team.

The Mail report Celtic are one of eight elite clubs keeping a close eye on the teenager, who was watched by Liverpool and Manchester City last week.

Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton are also monitoring the emerging star, while Stoke have already had a bid of £100,000 rejected.

Gallacher made his debut as a 16-year-old in a Scottish Cup tie in November 2015 and has gone on to make a further seven first-team appearances this season, five of which have come in the Scottish Championship.

Falkirk manager Peter Houston has revealed there has been strong interest in the teen sensation and admitted that his club will cash in if their asking price is met.

“I’ve had phone calls from all sorts of people around all sorts of different clubs asking about Tony. Word gets about and scouts swarm,” Houston told the Sun.

“People have asked me what it would take to get him but I tell them they’ll have to put in a bid and then we’ll see.

‘Falkirk will always need to be a selling club but we’re also in a good financial position so it would have to be an offer that is too good to turn down.”

In other Celtic transfer news, the Scottish giants have tied up a second defender deal in days after the terms of a transfer were agreed.

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