Celtic boss Tony Mowbray today said his plans to strengthen during the January transfer window are well under way.
Celtic boss Tony Mowbray today said his plans to strengthen during the January transfer window are well under way.
The Parkhead club have been linked with at least half a dozen new signings this week as the window edges closer.
Mowbray, who welcomed £2million Korean signing Ki Sung-Yueng for his first training session at Lennoxtown today, said: “You can’t just have one target for a certain position. You have to have a second target and other targets in case, for whatever reason, you don’t get the first player you identified.
“It could be his club don’t want to sell him, maybe they are asking for too much or another club comes in for him, so there are various reasons why a deal won’t go through. But we have been looking far and wide.
“I’ve been informed as to some of the names we have been linked with in the last week, but I don’t think it is right to comment on players contracted to other clubs. Some of them I’ve never heard of and some we are very well aware of.
“But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully we can improve the squad during the transfer window, however, it depends what players are available and if I deal can be concluded.”
Meanwhile, one confirmed target, Dmitry Verkhovtsov is tipped to become as big a name as his country’s brightest star – Alexander Hleb.
Sources at the Parkhead club have today confirmed a strong interest from Tony Mowbray in the £500,000 Belarus stopper who plays for Naftan Novopolotsk.
Mowbray – who is also ready to begin contract talks with Sheffield United defender Matthew Kilgallon inside the next week – is desperate to shore up his weak backline for the second half of the season.
And whilst the likes of Verkhovtsov are unknown quantities, people who have seen the 23-year-old play claim he has all the qualities needed to go on and emulate the career of ex-Arsenal and Barcelona playmaker Hleb.
Celtic’s interest in Verkhovtsov has caused a stir in Belarus and his club boss, Igor Kovalevich, said:
“After the national team’s performance against Argentina, several European teams came up with offers about Dmitri.
“In my opinion he is going to play in Europe successfully very soon, and he can have as big an impact as Hleb.”
Kilgallon, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been a long-term target. He is free to speak to interested clubs about a Bosman transfer from January 1. Celtic skipper Stephen McManus could be offered as a makeweight in any deal.
