Brendan Rodgers is set to send Eboue Kouassi out on loan.
The midfielder joined Celtic a year ago from Russian side Krasnodar for a fee reported to be around £2m.
After recovering from a bout of malaria Kouassi’s game time has been limited due to the form of Scott Brown who has been Celtic’s player-of-the-year by a distance.
Kouassi has been restricted to just two SPFL starts this season but despite his lack of game time he remains part of Brendan Rodgers’ plans.
“Eboue was brought in and he plays a specific role — the Scott Brown role,” the Celtic boss told The Sun.
“Scott just so happens to be the captain and he’s been brilliant. So it’s been difficult.
“Broony is one I’ve taken out the odd time, and I’ve got Eboue in but there’s no doubt he hasn’t played a lot of games. It’s not because of him, it’s because of the form of our skipper
“Kouassi’s one who is brilliant in training. He does everything, and longer-term he will certainly fulfil that role when Scott moves on but while we wait for that we need to ensure Eboue is developing and improving.
“That might mean game-time in the second part of the season. He needs to be playing. We’ll see but you need to weigh it up.”
Kouassi turned 20 last month and quickly established himself at Krasnodar after moving there from the Ivory Coast.
France, Belgium or Holland would seem to be the most suited leagues to send him on loan to with Celtic having extensive contacts in those countries.
The loan system carries a lot of risk as well as rewards with Ryan Christie at Aberdeen the best example of how it can be worked beneficially.