Hoops chief rules out moves for strike pair

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is on the lookout for a versatile operator as he dismissed links to two strikers.

Reports have linked Celtic with moves for Barcelona’s Alex Collado and Bamba Dieng of Marseille.

But Postecoglou said: “Neither of them are on my radar.

“As I have said before, we will stay active in the market. There’s still a couple of weeks in terms of the transfer window being open.

“There is a possibility of some guys moving out and then it’s about finding the right fit for what we need.

“If the right individual comes along then we will do our work then and move on them. But at the moment we are talking to nobody and there is no one on the horizon.”

Postecoglou’s priority this summer was to seal permanent deals for last season’s star loan players, Jota and Cameron CarterVickers, and get greater depth in other areas; he has signed left-back Alexandro Bernabei, midfielder Aaron Mooy, centre-back Moritz Jenz and goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist.

“Squad depth is the key for us this year in terms of our recruiting,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s cinch Premiership clash with Kilmarnock.

“We obviously did a lot of business last year and tried to build a strong foundation.

“Signing Cameron and Jota was probably the key part of our transfer policy, to make them permanent, because we felt they would improve us this year because they are going to improve.

“And after that it was about filling the gaps that I felt existed last year. We got stretched as a group and there were some areas we were really light on in terms of players.”

Meanwhile, right-back Josip Juranovic is said to be attracting interest from Manchester United and Chelsea following an impressive 12 months in Glasgow.

“Josip has fitted in really well,” Postecoglou said. “He had a strong season for us last year and, like the rest of the group, has come back looking to be better.”