EXCLUSIVE: £8m Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham is on Celtic's list of targets as Brendan Rodgers eyes reinforcements

Celtic have added Bournemouth central defender Chris Mepham to a list of summer signing targets.

The 26-year-old Welsh international has struggled to hold down a first-team place at the English Premier League side due to injuries and the form of Marco Senesi and Illia Zabarnyi.

A target for Leeds and Sheffield United in the January window, Bournemouth refused to sell mid-season. Heading into the final 12 months of his contract at the Vitality Stadium, Mepham would now command a fee in the region of £8million.

Capped 33 times for Wales, the six foot three inch defender can function on the right or left side of a central defence. Celtic’s interest is in the early stages, with the Scottish champions yet to make an official approach.

Speaking earlier this season, Mepham said: ‘I am probably - in football terms - coming to the peak of a career now at 26. The next couple of years are important for me.

‘It’s important to play week-in-week-out. If you are not getting the game time you want and need to you have to be open to all options.

‘I just think sometimes things don’t always work out as you want and sometimes there’s a better fit for you elsewhere.’

Brendan Rodgers will look to move a number of players out this season and is in the market for reinforcements at goalkeeper, left-back, central defence, midfield and attack. The Parkhead club are in talks with Benfica over a £3.5million permanent deal for Paulo Bernardo.

News of an interest in Mepham comes after Legia Warsaw failed in a bid to loan Celtic’s Polish central defender Maik Nawrocki. Blighted by injuries since a £4.5million move last summer, reports in his homeland claim Nawrocki turned down a return to Legia - but could have a change of heart in January if he fails to nail down a first team place. Swedish centre half Gustaf Lagerbielke is expected to go this summer.