Craig Bellamy to join Celtic? It started as a fairly dubious rumour but Neil Lennon has now confirmed talks are taking place – and the boss seems confident he will get his man.
For reasons only known to the powers-that-be at Manchester City, the 31-year-old Wales international is out-of-favour, something Lennon clearly finds baffling as he described Bellamy as “probably the best player” in the Premier League last season outside of Chelsea and Manchester United.
Whether the offer is a loan bid, as initially speculated, or a £6million permanent switch as is now being mooted remains unclear, but both Spurs and Sunderland are thought to be keen in signing the striker. However, Lennon believes Bellamy’s previous spell at Celtic, combined with Manchester City possibly preferring to deal with a club outside the Premier League, puts Celtic in pole position.
At a press conference earlier today, Lennon said: “When you see someone of the calibre of Craig and the fact that he’s not in the 25 and he’s looking to go out and play football then we feel it’s something we can’t try and miss out on.
“We’ve been speaking to his representatives, we’ve been speaking to Man City, so how far down the line we are will be down to Craig obviously, but the advantage we have over a lot of teams is that we’re not in the Premier League and he’s been here before. He enjoyed his time here and made a huge impact on the game up here and he’s got a real connection with the supporters.”
What happens next is anybody’s guess but given how careful Celtic usually are with mentioning names to the press there is a chance the deal is far closer than Lennon is letting on. Bellamy’s class is undeniable and such a deal would both improve the team and cheer up quite a few fans.
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