LENNON OFFERS NO GUARANTEES
Elhamed to join Celts but manager reveals he won’t be a certain starter at right-back
AWORK permit secured, Hatem Abd Elhamed will be one of Celtic’s right-backs this season. As the Israeli underwent a medical in Paris yesterday, Neil Lennon could offer no guarantees he will be the right-back.
Speaking ahead of the first leg of the Champions League qualifier with Estonian champions Kalju, Celtic’s manager confirmed negotiations are underway to sign a second right full-back.
Lennon declined to name the top target. However, Sportsmail understands Celtic have run checks on FC Basle’s Silvan Widmer and Antonio Barragan of Real Betis. Long-term Polish target Robert Gumny of Lech Poznan, rated in the £5million bracket, could still come into the reckoning if other targets fall.
Former Leicester defender Danny Simpson was due to go on trial this week until the plug was pulled when Celtic made progress with permanent moves.
‘That’s not happening,’ said Lennon of Simpson. ‘We are down the line with one player, so he is going through the medical process at the minute. We got the work permit yesterday, so he is doing the paperwork and medical in Paris as we speak.’
A problem position for some time, securing a new right-back has been the holy grail of fans for most of this year.
January loan signing Jeremy Toljan proved unimpressive and Lustig left for Gent before the Bhoys began to hit a number of obstacles in their lengthy search for a replacement. Brought to the club by the familiar figure of Israeli agent Dudu Dahan, it remains to be seen if Elhamed proves the answer.
‘He just has to come in and be himself,’ said Lennon of Elhamed. ‘There are a lot of similarities to Mika. He is a good height, but quicker than Mika, which wouldn’t be hard.
‘Mika was a stalwart but we can’t think about bringing in the new Mikael Lustig, this guy is his own player and brings a lot of good attributes to the team.’
Keeping track of the right-back targets has required an abacus rather than an ipad. Luton targets James Justin and Jack Stacey moved to Leicester and Bournemouth respectively. Huddersfield captain Tommy Smith joined Stoke City. A bid for Sheffield United’s George Baldock floundered, a move for FC Copenhagen’s Peter Ankersen fizzled out, while a resurrection of interest in Norwegian Omar Elabdellaoui ran into an old, familiar obstacle. High wages. Gumny, a long-term target, hasn’t yet been ruled out completely.
Elhamed has played right-back a number of times, but is more recognised as a central defender. The fact he can play right-back offers no guarantees that he will.
‘He is one of them,’ said Lennon, giving little clue to the identity of the other. ‘Right-back has been difficult for the club over the last couple of years. I think a lot of clubs are in the same position.
‘But we are close to Hatem and in negotiations with another.’
Lille are preparing to return to the table for the second year running with a £5million move for Jozo Simunovic and it is possible Elhamed will provide cover if Celtic accept an anticipated offer from the French side.
‘There is nothing concrete,’ said the Celtic boss of Simunovic. ‘Again, he’s a player I don’t want to lose because he’s been fantastic for me since I came in and I thought he was superb last week.
‘We have a year left on his contract and we have an option, so we’re still in a very strong position on that. I don’t know if there’s been direct contact but you hear rumours and speculation through agents.’
Celtic have already spent heavily in defence, buying Christopher Jullien for £7m from Toulouse and left-back Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo from Rapid Vienna for £3m.
Jullien is expected to be the first-choice centre-half alongside Kristoffer Ajer. As yet it’s not clear if he will start against Nomme Kalju at Parkhead tonight.
‘He will be in my thoughts, yes. Whether he starts or not is another thing,’ noted Lennon.
‘Just due to lack of game time. We had a bounce game on Thursday and he came through 80 minutes of that fine. The boys are doing fine at the minute and we will take our time if we need to.’
Marian Shved, Vakoun Bayo and Mikey Johnston are fit again after injury. With a third qualifying tie against FC Cluj or Maccabi TelAviv up for grabs, victory is expected despite the lack of time available to study the Estonians fully.
‘They had a great result in Macedonia,’ added Lennon. ‘I think that was pretty unexpected really.
‘I don’t know how they compare with Sarajevo, I thought they were a decent side for opposition at this time of year. Again we are well prepared for it, we know how important the tie is.
‘It would be great if we could get some sort of decent, substantial lead to take over there.
‘We are having the game watched on Wednesday night, Cluj and Maccabi, we have people going out to the game and we will get a full report and obviously a lot of footage. It’s far better to watch them in the flesh but it’s impossible at this stage of the season.’