Everton are preparing to firm up their interest in Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston.
Scotland right-back Nathan Patterson is drawing strong interest from clubs in Germany, Spain and Italy, while Seamus Coleman has also called time on his career.
Johnston played all five games for Canada at the World Cup finals and is on a shortlist of replacements.
While Celtic would prefer to retain one of their most influential players, the Scottish champions are bracing themselves for a bid in excess of £10million for a 28-year-old under contract until 2029.
The loss of Johnston would add a right-back to the list of transfer reinforcements needed ahead of Monday night’s SPFL Premiership opening fixture against Dundee.
The Parkhead club have spent £16million on two strikers, with record signing Kasper Hogh moving from Bodo/Glimt to join Colombian striker Camilo Duran.
Keen to move to Glasgow, Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur has already agreed personal terms over a four-year deal and was left out of a pre-season friendly against Southampton amidst reports of a head cold.
While Celtic are prepared to pay £4million, the German side’s Sporting Director Sebastian Lange has been holding out for a significantly higher fee.
A Greg Taylor return is another of the options under consideration as the club seek competition for first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney.
While Feyenoord snapped up first choice Tjark Ernst, a goalkeeper is another priority on manager Martin O’Neill’s list.
“We are trying to get quality into the football club,” said O’Neill. “I think that we are doing our best to do that. We will get more players in, there’s no question of that. But, yeah, I want quality over quantity.”
Japanese forward Daizen Maeda completed a £10million move to English Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town last week.
Midfielder Reo Hatate also wants to leave and is attracting interest from English Championship side West Ham as well as clubs in France and MLS.
