Celtic ready to play wildcard

Deadline: Race against time as Hoops eye major signing for Astana qualifier

Celtic are hopeful of bringing in a player to bolster their squad for Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against Astana.

Celtic fly out on Monday to Kazakhstan and assistant manager Chris Davies concedes they are closing in on their second major signing of the summer, following attacker Moussa Dembele’s arrival.

The Uefa deadline for newplayers expired yesterday but one player can be added afterwards until midnight on Tuesday. Celtic have been linked with moves for Aston Villa forward Scott Sinclair and Blackburn defender Shane Duffy.

Davies said:“We’re hopeful of doing something but the most important thing is it’s the right person. We have the option of the wildcard up until the day before the game, so it gives us a bit of leeway.”

Astana clinched their place in the third qualifying round thanks to a late winner against Lithuanian

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side Zalgiris Vilnius. The win continued Astana’s unbeaten home record in the Champions League, which helped them reach the group stages last season.

They beat Maribor, HJK HelsinkiandApoeltomake history and only lost twice in their group, although they finished bottom.

Davies said of Celtic’s opponents: “They are good, so we know the challenge.

“But there are no excuses for us. We are a big team and we have got to do a big job.”