NEIL Lennon has stressed that Celtic may need to
wait until the final day of the January transfer window to strengthen their squad and has urged fans to be patient.
The triple treble winners have been linked with
moves Brazilian defender
Fabricio Bruno and Slovenian striker Andraz Sporar in recent days.
Lennon has confirmed that talks between Parkhead
officials and their Slovan
Bratislava counterparts over
£5m-rated Sporar have taken place.
The Northern Irishman, whose team take on St Mirren in Paisley in the Ladbrokes Premiership this afternoon,
admitted he would like to get any business done early.
The Glasgow club head off to Dubai next week for a warm weather training break during the winter shutdown and he wants to use that to bed in new faces.
However, Lennon, whose team is five points ahead of Rangers in the Premiership and in the last 32 of the
Europa League, knows it could be deadline day before any deals are agreed.
“It’d be ideal [to get players in early], but whether we can do it is another thing,” he said.
“There will be other clubs interested in the players
that we are interested in as well. Agents, presidents,
hey will hold on to get the best offer and best deal. That’s their job.
“I’ve done lots of business on the last day of windows which has worked out fine. Sometimes it’s a game of patience.
“I know the fans will be
impatient and other people will be impatient, but it’s just not the way it works sometimes.
“If we can get them out to
Dubai, brilliant. If not, we’ve got the whole month to do a bit of business.
“And, if we don’t do anything, I’ll be quite happy with what we’ve got, although I do think there are one or two areas we can strengthen. As a unit and as a squad, they are in a really good place.”
Asked about Sporar, he said: “I believe there were talks
between the clubs but he’s one of a number of options we are talking to at the moment. There is no further progress on that at the minute.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here