N
eil Lennon wants to make some early signings when the transfer window opens.
Last summer the hoops boss moved quickly to sign Virgil van Dijk and Amido Balde who were both in the squad that went to Germany for pre-season training.
Gary Hooper, Kelvin Wilson and Victor Wanyama were also in Germany with the hoops boss bracing himself for departures as well as signings during the summer months.
“We will have everyone back on June 24,” Lennon explained. “Tony Watt and Callum McGregor will come back from their loans and we are hoping to add a couple.
“It looks like Georgios Samaras is going to go. We may get bids for players but whether we take them or not is another thing. It will be a difficult period seeing what’s going to happen.
“We lost three important players last summer and I wouldn’t want to go through that again.
“I will be at the World Cup but I will be working and it’s an opportunity to look at players. I have been looking at some already – I wouldn’t say we are any closer to making a decision on any player but we are in the hunt for a couple.”
One signing that all supporters would like to see sorted quickly is for top scorer Kris Commons.
Celtic can exercise the one year option on the 31 goal midfielders contract but a new three year deal with a hefty pay rise would suit all parties.
The former Nottingham Forest man ranks alongside Henrik Larsson and Lubo Moravcik when it comes to value for money deals with Commons delighted by his form this season.
“I’m suited to a No.10 role because I don’t have blistering pace,” he admitted. “When you look at wingers, you think pace, get the full-backs get to the byelines.
“We weren’t blessed with Larssons, Suttons and Hartsons, guys who can score a lot with their heads. When I came in there was myself, Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper – we’re all under 6ft.
“So we had to play on the deck and do one-twos. That kind of isolated the wingers.
“We found a system that worked. We had Emilio Izaguirre, Adam Matthews and Mikael Lustig who could get up and down the flanks so I could be pushed inside.
“If I can get the ball inside those pockets and turned, I can usually find a pass to create a goal.”
