DEILA INSPECTS TARGET PANTIC

Lennart Thy and Emil Berggreen in recent weeks. And former Parkhead forward Andy Walker feels Deila requires another attacking option this month after relying on a late goal from fit-again top scorer Leigh Griffiths to see off Partick Thistle on Saturday. ‘Celtic are renowned for their striking partnerships down through the years — I played in one myself with Frank McAvennie, who Option: Pantic was a terrific player and (Henrik) Larsson and (Chris) Sutton were here not so long ago,’ Walker told Sky Sports. ‘I think Nadir Ciftci, if Leigh Griffiths is injured, certainly needs a bit of help. He’s not the type of striker who can play on his own up front. ‘Griffiths has been terrific but not quite 100-per-cent fit at the moment, although he was still able to come on at the weekend and get the all-important winner. ‘So I think the supporters would like to see a bit of flexibility from the manager and the way that he plays. ‘They’d certainly like to see some better recruitment. I think when you look at the amount of money Celtic do spend, getting the likes of (Stefan) Scepovic and (Derk) Boerrigter in, that’s the best part of £5million. ‘When Celtic spend that kind of money, you expect to see a bit of evidence on the park that they are improving. But those two players, for a lot of money, have done absolutely nothing. ‘Certainly the recruitment can improve and I think Celtic will try to do some business in this January transfer window.’

RONNY DEILA has cast his eye over Serbian centre-back Aleksandar Pantic as he continues to weigh up transfer options. The Celtic manager travelled to Spain on Sunday to watch Eibar’s resounding 4-0 La Liga win away to Real Betis. Deila is also thought to have looked at forward duo Sergi Enrich and Borja Baston as part of a wide-ranging spying mission. Under-21 international Pantic has, though, been on the radar of the Parkhead club for several months. Currently on loan at Eibar from Villarreal, the 23-year-old’s deal with his parent club expires in the summer — meaning he could sign a pre-contract agreement with new employers. Pantic joined Villarreal from Red Star Belgrade in 2013. He impressed when farmed out to Cordoba last season and has repeated those performances with Eibar, helping the unfashionable club to eighth place in La Liga. In terms of potential striking additions, Celtic have also been linked with Libor Kozak,