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Will Lancaster

Celtic transfer state of play as Giorgos Giakoumakis tug of war sparks Atlanta rethink and late striker option alive

It's crunch time in the winter transfer window with just under 36 hours remaining for Scottish Premiership teams to finish their business ahead of the second half of the season.

For Celtic, incomings appear to be done and dusted, ending in just the four additions for Ange Postecoglou. Alistair Johnston, Yuki Kobayashi, Oh Hyeon-gyu and Tomoki Iwata have walked through the doors at Lennoxtown, replacing the likes of Josip Juranovic and Scott Robertson with the departures of other squad players likely.

The Hoops are nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership with just 15 games to go, and whilst two of those games will be the Old Firm derby, it's a sizeable gap for Rangers to try and close. The squad Postecoglou has is more than good enough to even extend that lead - but with Giorgos Giakoumakis potentially leaving, question marks could be upheld from the more sceptical Hoops fans.

So who could be coming and who could be going? Record Sport takes a look.

Giorgos Giakoumakis

It seemed for quite a while that Giorgos Giakoumakis would be leaving Celtic Park for J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds, with other clubs seemingly unwilling or unable to stump up the required fee for the Greek goalscorer after a new contract couldn't be agreed with the Glasgow giants. However, MLS side Atlanta United have ramped up their efforts in recent days.

They will use Giakoumakis as one of their only 'Designated Player' slots to allow the club to spend big on the Greek international, according to reports in America. Other publications have stated that he was at Lennoxtown earlier on Monday collecting the final remaining out of his locker. It would represent a loss for Celtic.

However, Ange Postecoglou is well prepared for his departure. Hyeongyu Oh has been brought in from Suwon and has already made his debut.

Szymon Wlodarczyk

With Giakoumakis set to depart, Celtic's only out-and-out strikers consist of Kyogo and Oh, although Daizen Maeda can play up front if required. That led to links for young Polish striker Szymon Wlodarczyk, who has been dubbed the 'young Lewandowski' by some in his country.

The 20-year-old featured alongside Juranovic for Legia Warsaw after signing age 17, but has found his feet at Goring Zabrze, scoring seven goals in 15 top-flight games at the age of just 20. But despite Celtic being interested, he played down the idea of a move earlier this window.

He told RMF 24: "I don't have any specifics about the transfer. Interest is high, as they write in the media. It's hard not to read it and I'm not surprised the fans are asking about it.

"If I don't have specifics, I don't think about it. If you don't have something on paper, there's nothing to think about. I'm only interested in what's going on in training and what the next match will be. It matters to me."

Yosuke Ideguchi

Yosuke Ideguchi has found game time hard to come by since arriving in the Scottish Premiership. An injury hampered 12 months has seen the midfielder drop down the pecking order, and he has yet to make an appearance for Celtic so far this season.

Ange Postecoglou has already admitted that he could leave the club before the end of the month, and reports in Japan suggest there is interest ahead of deadline day. Japanese outlet Auone claim former club Gamba Osaka are weighing up a loan approach before February 1.

Moussa Dembele

Celtic will be keeping a close eye on Moussa Dembele's situation at Southampton. The Lyon frontman is in the final six months of his contract, and the Parkhead side are running out of time to recoup cash the 10 per cent sell on clause in the player's contract.

The Daily Echo report that a £3million bid has now been accepted by the Ligue 1 side. That could see Celtic pot £300k before the window closes.

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