Swansea City lead Celtic as favourites to sign Yeovil Town right-back Tom James

Swansea have been watching the 21-year-old all season and want to sign him this summer

Yeovil’'s Tom James played against Manchester United in the FA Cup (Getty Images)

Swansea City are favourites to sign Tom James from Yeovil Town this summer, ahead of Celtic and Bournemouth.

The Welsh club have been closely following James’s recent progress and want to add the 21-year-old defender to their squad for next season, especially given their weakness at right-back, where Kyle Naughton has been first choice this season.

James, who can play anywhere across the back four, has also attracted the attention of Scottish champions Celtic and Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth, as he has become an important part of Darren Way’s first team. Yeovil have moved up towards League Two safety in recent weeks, as well as making a run towards the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they hosted Manchester United.

James has two seasons remaining on his Yeovil contract after this one, having signed a new contract in January. He is likely to cost less than £500,000 as a down payment as he has only been at Yeovil for 18 months. He was previously at Cardiff City where he made his Premier League debut under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.