CELTIC are going Dutch in their build up to their Champions League qualifiers with a pre-season friendly against Ajax in Amsterdam.

July 21 has been pencilled in for the glamour match in the stadium where the Hoops won 3-1 in a qualifier for Europe's premier competition in 2001.

With the SPL agreeing to allow Celtic to postpone their home league game scheduled for August 11, when Neil Lennon's side will travel to Philadelphia to face Real Madrid, it's an ultra-high-profile build up to the new campaign.

Other games are also in the pipeline for the Parkhead club to ensure the Hoops are in prime condition for their opening Champions League qualifier on either July 31 or August 1. And Lennon also hopes to have three or four new faces bedded into his squad by then.

Rosenborg midfielder Markus Henrikssen remains on their radar, while Leicester defender Matt Mills and Huddersfield Town hitman Jordan Rhodes – who scored twice for Scotland U-21s last night – are also being pursued.

But, Lennon has other targets as yet undisclosed, and hopes to get them aboard before the squad report back for training on July 2.

The scouting net has been cast far and wide, and the latest names linked with he SPL champions are striker Gaetan Charbonnier, who plays for French Second Division side Angers, and goal-machine Oribe Peralta, who is currently a team-mate of former Parkhead midfielder Marc Crosas at Santos Laguna, the club Celtic are linked with in Mexico.

Charbonnier admits he would love a move and said: "I've never hidden the fact I want to perform at the top level and if I had to move, I would.

"My destination will depend upon which club is better for my future."

Peralta has attracted a lot of interest this season with his strike rate, and the 28-year-old international hitman is now expected to lead Mexico's attack in the London Olympics this summer.

Meanwhile, Lennon is continuing to make room for new players by moving out men surplus to requirements.

Darren O'Dea is the latest to go after the Hoops confirmed they would not take up the year option on his contract.

As he prepared for the Euro Championships with the Republic of Ireland, the 25-year-old said: "I'm leaving on a free, and I am very happy."