Celtic's manager Neil Lennon has confirmed an interest in the Swede Mikael Lustig and was at Wembley last week to watch the defender play in their 1-0 defeat by England. The 24-year-old, who will be out of contract at Rosenborg next month, has spoken positively about a move to Glasgow.
"He is a player we have had our eye on," Lennon said. "Whether a deal gets done, I don't know – nothing has been agreed yet. We do like him. We like his make-up. He is a good defender, and a good footballer. He's played most of Sweden's Euro 2012 qualification games. He's been a regular with Rosenborg for a number of years.
"I think we are in talks, that's as far as it's gone. Hopefully we'd bring him in January if we could. He's been on the radar for a while, for the last 18 months or so."
Lennon believes Lustig could feature at right-back or centre-half. The manager held talks with the club's majority shareholder, Dermot Desmond, in London last Thursday. Celtic are also keen to recruit a powerful centre-forward. "We have discussed targets in the last week or so," Lennon added. "We will work on that as we go along."
The manager has refused to read too much into the possibility of his team narrowing the gap on Rangers to four points before the Ibrox team kick-off at Kilmarnock on Sunday. Celtic host Dunfermlineon Wednesday evening before facing St Mirren on Saturday.
"I'm not looking that far ahead," Lennon said. "Dunfermline had a good start [to the season], got a few results and got a great result at Hibs so they are capable of winning. We just have to be careful, take the game very seriously. It's the most important game of the season because it is the next one.
"I have said before, a week is a long time in football. I don't know where we will be in six months' time, where we will be in a month's time. The great thing about football is that it's so unpredictable at times. I have been here 11 years and seen swings and roller-coaster rides along the way. So it is never a foregone conclusion."