Reports have emerged within the French press tonight that suggest Scottish champions Celtic and a host of English Premier League teams are interested in Olympique Lyonnais and Morocco under-23 international Fahd Moufi. According to sources at Foot Mercato, the 19-year-old right-back is also attracting attention from a number of Les Gones’ Ligue 1 rivals.

The promising youth prospect is said to be hopeful of signing a first professional contract with his current club which would guarantee him a position of stability, but it is understood that Lyon’s deliberation and delay in offering him such a deal has ignited interested in his services from a number of clubs, who could aim to prize the youth international away from the Stade de Gerland in a cut-price deal.

In 2013, Moufi moved to Lyon after ten years with his local side FC Mulhouse, where he was widely considered to be one of the club’s brightest under-19 prospects. The French-born player elected to represent Morocco and he grabbed the attention of Lyon’s youth recruitment scouts when he impressed with his high-quality performances at the 2013 Under-17 African Cup of Nations tournament which was held in his home nation.

After his summer move to the Rhône-Alpes-based club, he began to positively develop and cultivate his unique style of play within France’s best performing youth academy. The 19-year-old has since gone on to become a regular starter within the club’s under-19 side, and he also plays regularly within the OL B side that competes in the CFA, France’s fourth-tier of football.

Celtic scouts are believed to have watched Moufi play at least once this season, as they were reported to be in attendance during Les Lyonnais’ Coupe Gambardella (French Under-19 Cup) 1-0 semi-final victory against Rennes at the Stade Paul Debrésie.  The full-back would have impressed Ronny Deila’s scouts with his pace, physical strength and his ability to provide his side with an additional attacking option, providing constant support down the right-hand side.

Moufi says that he styles himself on Barcelona’s Dani Alves and Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva. He has also admitted that he has learnt a lot from France international full-back and teammate Christophe Jallet. The Franco-Moroccan found himself on the losing side in Saturday’s shock 2-0 Coupe Gambardella final defeat to Sochaux at the Stade de France, but he did impress in what was a resurgent second-half performance from Lyon. He constantly offered assistance to the attacking players during periods of sustained pressure that OL did manage to create.

The Lyon youngster is certainly a player with an impressive pedigree and with undoubted potential, and a transfer to Celtic could be an exceptional piece of business should the opportunity for such a deal come to arise. However, the ball is firmly in Lyon’s court – should a professional contract come Moufi’s way within the next few weeks, he would almost certainly commit his future to his current employers.  Given the reported interest from external clubs, the situation is likely to continue to create speculation for as long as it remains unresolved.