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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Fraser Wilson

Neil Lennon takes Celtic scouting trip to Connah's Quay vs Partizan Belgrade but who shone?

Neil Lennon was an interested spectator as Connah's Quay Nomads took on Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Celtic boss was among the crowd at Belle Vue in Rhyl as Kilmarnock's slayers went down 1-0.

The purpose of Lennon's trip in the sunshine is not totally clear but he wouldn't be wasting the opportunity to cast his eye over some of the talent on show.

Partizan -  who finished third in the Serbian league last season - have a number of internationalists in their side. They also have former Rangers loan flop Umar Sadiq in attack.

And while the towering striker wouldn't be high up Lennon's list of players to watch, right back Nemanja Miletić might have been.

The 28-year-old Kosovan lined-up on the right side of the Partizan back four - an area Lennon is determined to strengthen even after this week's capture of Hatem Abd Elhamed.

Miletić still has two years left on his contract in Belgrade and has been capped once by Serbia.

Other players who might have caught the eye in Rhyl include former Manchester United winger Zoran Tošić who was at the centre of all the creativity in the away side. However, at 32, Tosic hardly meets the profile of a Celtic signing.

(PA)

Attacking midfielder Seydouba Soumah does though and the 28-year-old, capped 27 times by Guinea, is in the final 12 months of his contract. Soumah spent last season on loan at Maccabi Haifa who had an option to sign him at the end of the season but he returned to Partizan.

Another player that may have impressed him tonight is Aleksander Šćekić. The 27-year-old Montenegro international gave his side the lead just after the hour mark, and has two years left on his current deal with the Serbian outfit.

And teenage centre-back Starhinja Pavlovic is another who has a growing reputation in Serbian circles.

Lennon admits he is still in the market for another right back.

Two names emerged on Thursday. Basel’s Silvan Widmer is under consideration according to the Daily Mail. They claim Celtic have scouted the 26-year-old Swiss, who moved back to his homeland just last summer from Udinese.

Widmer made 31 appearances for Basel last season and has another three years left on his deal.

The same report claims Celtic have run checks on Real Betis’ Antonio Barragan. At 32, he has next to no resale value but on the plus side, offers great experience.

Barragan has just one year left on his contract with La Liga side, with whom he featured 24 times last season. He is valued in the region of £1.7m.

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