Lennon targets at least two new January recruits

CELTIC manager Neil Lennon admits he wants to recruit a minimum of two players during the forthcoming transfer window.

After last summer’s squad overhaul, Lennon and head of football operations Nick Hammond are focusing on specifics, with a new striker to lend support to Odsonne Edouard top of the January agenda.

Slovenian frontman Andraz Sporar is one of a number of forwards under consideration but Lennon also hopes to trim the squad of fringe players, possibly through loan deals.

‘We want to bring in a minimum of two and no more than four,’ said Lennon. ‘We’re working away on that but it’s difficult to do deals in January and get the right quality.

‘We look at players and say: “Yeah, he’s a good player but not for now”, so it will depend on the circumstances of each deal.

‘Sometimes it can backfire on you. You have to do your due diligence on the personality of the player and that’s all in hand.

‘If you can strengthen, if you think it will make you better and you have the funds to do it, then it makes perfect sense.’

Lennon admits Celtic’s Champions League qualifying bid was hampered by the settling-in period endured by the likes of £7million defender Christopher Jullien during the preliminaries.

‘That’s always a concern at the back of your mind,’ he added. ‘If you can do the business in January and get the right ones, you can benefit in the summer.

‘You’ve got that short space of time in pre-season before going into the European qualifiers. This year, (Boli) Bolingoli and Jullien weren’t ready. They will be if and when next year’s come around.

‘There’s a freshness about the squad at the moment with the players we’ve brought in. There are good personalities that have helped make us better.’

Winger Scott Sinclair, who spoke to Sportsmail last weekend regarding his frustration at a lack of game time, is one who could be allowed to leave next month.

However, even as he searches for a striker, Lennon is adamant there is no chance of Leigh Griffiths being allowed out on loan to regain his sharpness.

Inactive for much of 2019 as he dealt with personal issues, the Scotland internationalist has been phased back into action over the past few weeks, predominantly as a substitute.

‘Leigh’s too good a player to go on loan,’ said Lennon. ‘I think he will be an asset for us in the second half of the season and he’s not making any waves to go either.

‘He just brings that something different. He has that striker’s instinct and movement.

‘He’s looking better in training day by day. If we can get him fully fit for the long haul, there’s no way I’d let him go on loan.

‘The squad needs a bit of streamlining. We want to do that and keep the main core together.

‘Some need to go out and play and we may benefit from that in the future.’

Lennon contends that next month’s winter training camp in Dubai could provide a platform for Griffiths to shine in the second half of the campaign.

‘Leigh knows that, he’s very willing,’ added Lennon. ‘We gave the boys a day off on Thursday and he came in — that’s a really good sign for me.

‘I don’t know if he’d have done that in the past, probably not. He knows he’s got to stay on top of things and he’s doing that as best he can. He’s making good progress.’