Celtic have received a timely boost in their double pursuit of Fraser Forster and Mohamed Elyounoussi with Southampton facing fresh financial uncertainty.
The pair were key members of the Hoops side that delivered another Premiership title under Neil Lennon before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Premier League side are bracing for an "exodus" of first-team stars if they cant find a buyer - according to the Daily Star.
Chinese owner Gao Jisheng is desperately seeking a cut-price £150m sale for his 80 per cent stake in the club.
And Celtic will be closely monitoring any opportunity to complete a permanent double deal for two key men from the 2019/20 season.
Forster enjoyed one of his finest campaigns of his career as he rebounded from a nightmare spell at St Mary's under the guidance of Stevie Woods.
Norway international Elyounoussi, signed from Basel for £16m, won't be short of suitors but Celtic will hope they have the upper hand over any potential agreement.
The update from the south coast comes days after the Hoops boss made it clear that he is desperate to bring the pair back for their 10 in a row push.
Lennon said: “We’re hopeful they’ll be around but that’s a conversation we’ll have to have with Southampton and with the players individually.
“We’d want to keep them if we could. It keeps that continuity going rather than maybe going out and bringing other players in.
“If we could keep the services of those two, they know how we work and what the club is all about. They made really good contributions. Fraser was absolutely brilliant and Moey, up until the injury, was fantastic.”
The report suggests English quartet Danny Ings, Nathan Redmond, James Ward-Prowse and Alex McCarthy are also expected to be on the radar of fellow Premier League clubs.
