CELTIC are hopeful of bringing in a player to bolster their squad for Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against Astana.

Celtic fly out on Monday to Kazakhstan and assistant manager Chris Davies says they are closing in on their second major signing of the summer, following Moussa Dembele’s arrival.

The Uefa deadline for new players expired last night, but one player can be added afterwards until the end of Tuesday. Celtic have been linked with moves for Aston Villa winger Scott Sinclair and Blackburn defender Shane Duffy.

Davies said: “We’re hopeful of doing something but the most important thing, it’s the right person.We have the option of the wildcard up until the day before the game, so it gives us a bit of leeway.

“It’s a big enough squad so we want to bring players in that can improve the team.

“We know what we want but it’s got to be the right person and the right deal. These things take a little time.”

Astana clinched their place in the third qualifying round thanks to a late winner against Lithuanian side Zalgiris Vilnius.

The win continued Astana’s unbeaten home record in the Champions League, which helped them reach the group stages last season. They beat Maribor, HJK Helsinki and Apoel to make history and only lost twice in their group, although they finished bottom.

Davies said of Celtic’s opponents: “This team are good. They were in the Champions League last season, they got points off Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Galatasaray at home.

“So we know the challenge but there are no excuses for us. We are a big team and we have got to do a big job.”

With Astana’s progress last season, there is ample information for manager Brendan Rodgers and his backroom team to prepare for their test.

“We will go through a thorough process, like we have done already looking at potential opponents,” Davies said.

“There is no doubt they are a good team, they have some quality in there. But in terms of where we sit against them, we are confident we can do a job.”