NEIL LENNON has revealed his priority target area as he prepares Celtic for the bid for a historic 10 successive titles.
The Hoops boss has ordered his players to keep their focus as they welcome Hamilton Accies to Parkhead tomorrow afternoon for their ninth Flag Day in a row.
Lennon insists signing another top-class hitman is top of his wanted list as he gears up for a monumental campaign.
The Irishman has Odsonne Edouard, Patryk Klimala, Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Bayo pushing for the main roles in the firing squad, but has been searching for reinforcements during lockdown as has been linked with Peterborough hitman Ivan Toney and West Ham’s Swiss international Albian Ajeti.
Scotland raider Steven Fletcher, who is a free agent after leaving Sheffield Wednesday at the end of his contract, has also been mentioned as a possibility.
A £5million bid for Toney was rejected by the League One side Posh while Ajeti, who has failed to spark at the Hammeres after his £8million arrival from Basel last summer, is weighing up his options.
Lennon, speaking to the Daily Record, 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 allowed seven or eight move on 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.”
Scotland’s title kings paid £4.5million to AEK Athens for keeper Barkas and were prepared to top that up in their offer for Toney, so, despite the coronavirus pandemic hitting finances throughout the world of football, the Hoops have proved they are not afraid to spend if they identify quality players at the right price.
Lennon added: “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.”
The current window opened last Monday and will remain active until midnight on October 7.
Expect business to be done within the next two months.
