Ronny Deila has revealed that he is in the dark about Celtic’s interest in Steven Gerrard.
The Liverpool hero has signed for LA Galaxy but could be available as a loan signing next January.
David Beckham enjoyed loan stints with PSG and AC Milan rather than play against Manchester United in the Premier League with suggestions that Gerrard may be available on a similar basis.
Celtic’s recent transfer profile has been based around players under 24 coming from lesser nations that can be sold on to England with £12m Victor Wanyama the classic example.
Signing Gerrard would be a completely different dynamic, more likely to appeal to the marketing department than the coaching side, with news of a move coming as a surprise to the Celtic boss.
“It’s new for me,” Deila admitted. “It is one year away. I’ll take it day by day. Gerrard is a hero, a Liverpool star and best player of all-time. It’s a good name. We’ll see if it’s possible in January.”
Deila’s transfer priority will come in the summer with qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League the priority.
Central defensive is likely to be the priority with Jason Denayer returning to Manchester City and Virgil van Dijk likely to be a transfer target for a number of English sides.
Charlie Mulgrew and Mikel Lustig are capable of playing with distinction in central defence but a signing of the stature of van Dijk is expected.
It’s unlikely that any of the current loan signings will be retained with none of the current squad out of contract in the summer.