Neil Lennon insists bagging another top class striker is his main priority as the Celtic boss gears up for an epic campaign.
The Hoops boss is in the hunt for in-form Peterborough ace Ivan Toney and West Ham frontman Albian Ajeti, while former Hibs and Sunderland targetman Steven Fletcher is a free agent and has offered his services.
Celts saw a £5million bid for Toney rejected by Posh while Ajeti is weighing up his options and Lennon confirmed he wants to bolster his fire power for the bid for 10 In A Row.
He said: “it’s the most important position on the pitch. We’ve had a few injuries and absentees in that department so if there is a quality one available and we think it’s the right thing to do, we will pursue it.
“We’ll take a view on the squad later on down the line. It’ll be a club decision whether we see it as value for money.
“Fletcher is a good player. I’m not going to confirm or deny that, I don’t want to talk about individuals.
“We’ve been linked with a lot of strikers, midfield players, centre halves. There are one or two areas we want to add to because we have let a few players go.
“We let seven or eight go and we have only added Vasilis Barkas to the squad so it’s important we bring quality in, in the areas we are looking for.”
Lennon snapped up keeper Barkas in a record £4.5m deal and Celtic have shown they mean business with the big money bid for Toney.
The pandemic has hit football finances across the globe but the Hoops gaffer is confident he’ll
be given the funds to tool up for a potentially historic campaign.
Lennon said: “The market is open and we have seen some big names and big money being bandied around already.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it settles down. We’re very wary that there may be interest in some of our players and that’s something we will have to deal with as we go along.
“But we will look to add to the squad. We’ve had Mo Elyounoussi in the building for a few weeks.
“Barkas is the first real new addition to the squad so we will be looking to add to that as we go along.
“We’ve been patient and it’s been difficult but I don’t think it’s been any more difficult than any other transfer window.”
Lennon wants to keep hold of his key men and he revealed there’s been no approaches for in-demand stars such as Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer.
He said: “In the last couple of years we’ve sold players for a lot of money, Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney. We have adjusted accordingly.
“It’s always difficult when you see top quality players go but we’ve been doing that for the last 10-12 years. There may be interest in one or two of our players but we haven’t had any phone calls about any of them, which has been a pleasing aspect of pre-season so far.”
Celtic will unfurl the Premiership flag before kicking off the campaign against Hamilton tomorrow behind closed doors.
Barkas is set to be on the bench while Mikey Johnston is facing up to eight weeks out after
calf surgery.
Lennon welcomed government plans to re-introduce crowds from next month but he’s just thrilled the season has been able to get started on time.
He said: “It’s brilliant to be back. No-one knew what was coming. Scotland has dealt with this pandemic as well as anyone.
“It’s brilliant to have football back and I hope it stays that way. We see in some other countries the danger of a second spike and that’s something we want to avoid
“It will be quite poignant when the games start but it will be even better if and when we can get fans back in the stadiums.”
