CELTIC are ready to step up their bid to add even more young talent to their squad.

Chief scout, John Park, is talent-spotting at games across Europe, and was in Portugal earlier this week following leads.

And the aim will be to unearth raw talent – a tactic which has already turned up gems like Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama, Beram Kayal, Fraser Forster and Adam Matthews.

This has added millions to the Celtic's assets, while also delivering the trophies and European progress the club demands.

Assistant-manager Johan Mjallby is convinced this route will get them to where they want to be much quicker than if they went

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CELTIC are ready to step up their bid to add even more young talent to their squad. Chief scout, John Park, is talent-spotting at games across Europe, and was in Portugal earlier this week following leads.

And the aim will be to unearth raw talent – a tactic which has already turned up gems like Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama, Beram Kayal, Fraser Forster and Adam Matthews.

This has added millions to the Celtic's assets, while also delivering the trophies and European progress the club demands.

Assistant-manager Johan Mjallby is convinced this route will get them to where they want to be much quicker than if they went down the road of vying with big-spending clubs for big-name stars.

Mjallby said: "It's good scouting, and we haven't really spent that much money. It's good for us, and the club, if we can improve them and make them better.

"We have done that with quite a few of the signings. Many of them are worth a lot more now than we paid for them.

"Of course, everyone wants to see marquee signings, but we're not in the position to compete financially with the clubs down in England.

"We should take pride in the fact that we've shown good scouting to get the players in the first place and then we have improved them."

Alongside Park's star trek, manager Neil Lennon has also been networking at the conference arranged by the League Manager's Asscociation, which concludes tomorrow.

Rami Gershon is already on board. Tom Rogic could be next, though the Hoops face competition from six other clubs and may have to lodge a bid before his trial can continue.Juan Agudelo and Juwon Oshinawi are edging closer, while Marco Rojas could also have interest in him pursued.

The run to the last 16 of the Champions League not only boosts Celtic's sales pitch, it also helps persuade other targets to choose Celtic, even if other clubs from bigger leagues come calling.

That could be a big card to play in the pursuit of Rogic as Rayo Vallecano, Celta Vigo and Brugge join QPR, Fulham and Reading in the race to land the attacking midfielder.

Central Coast Mariners will not allow 20-year-old Rogic to play in tonight's friendly against Steaua Bucharest, and want the Hoops to talk money before they will allow him to travel to Lennoxtown for further assessment.