Celtic

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou says his club will fight to keep Tawanda Maswanhise this month amid speculation that Celtic manager Martin O'Neill's presence at Fir Park on Saturday was a scouting mission, with the 23-year-old Zimbabwe forward scoring the winner against Ross County in the Scottish Cup. (Scottish Sun), external

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has no plans to allow Yang Hyun-jun to leave during January amid the 23-year-old winger's improved form following renewed interest from Birmingham City last month. (Football Insider), external

Chelsea are set to recall Celtic target David Datro Fofana from his loan spell with Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk as they look to sell the 23-year-old Ivory Coast striker this month. (Football Insider), external

West Ham United manager Nuno Espirito Santo remained coy when asked about the future of Celtic-linked striker Callum Wilson despite the 33-year-old scoring a stoppage-time winner for the relegation-threatened side against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. (Sky Sports), external

Franko Kovacevic will not be joining Celtic, with the 26-year-old Croat striker having agreed personal terms after a £2.6m transfer was agreed between Slovenian club Celje and Ferencvarosand he has travelled to Hungary despite interest from the Scottish champions. (Daily Record), external

Hoffenheim are in advanced talks to sign Shamrock Rovers striker Michael Noonan, but Celtic are also in the race after presenting a bid for the 17-year-old. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Shamrock Rovers have turned down a bid of around £870,000 from Hoffenheim for Michael Noonan as it falls well short of their valuation of the 17-year-old striker. (Daniel McDonnell on X), external

Shamrock Rovers have rejected two bids from Hoffenheim for Michael Noonan as the League of Ireland club value the striker at more than £1.7m. (David Snyed on X), external

Celtic centre-half Hayato Inamura feels ashamed about his lack of success during six months in Scottish football after the 23-year-old returned to Japan on loan to Tokyo. (The Herald), external

Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira reckons his mentor, Wilfried Nancy, flopped at Celtic because Scottish football is awful judging by what he saw when he attended the recent Old Firm derby. (The Herald), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Martin O'Neill will be expected to maintain his excellent Scottish Cup record when he leads Celtic out against Auchinleck Talbot on Sunday.

Of the 24 Scottish Cup games O'Neill took charge of during his first spell, he lost just two - the 2002 final in which they were beaten by Rangers and the 2003 quarter-final where they were knocked out by Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

During that first five-season spell in Glasgow the Northern Irishman lifted the trophy on three occasions.

In his debut campaign, Celtic beat Stranraer, Dunfermline (after a replay), Hearts and Dundee United before easing past Hibs 3-0 in the final.

In the 2001-02 tournament Celtic beat Alloa, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Ayr United before losing 3-2 to Glasgow rivals Rangers at Hampden. In 2002-03 they beat St Mirren and St Johnstone before a shock 1-0 defeat to Inverness, with O'Neill recalling the disappointment to this day.

"To lose, particularly to Inverness Caledonian Thistle way back then was my fault really," the 73-year-old said before Sunday's visit to Rugby Park.

"I changed the team completely. I didn't know whether we would have the energy having just beaten Liverpool [in the UEFA Cup] on the Thursday night."

O'Neill redeemed himself the following year when they progressed all the way to the final and beat Dunfermline 3-1.

His final Scottish Cup game as Celtic boss came the following year when they edged out Dundee United 1-0 in the final, just days before he called it quits at Parkhead.

Over those 24 of the Scottish Cup games Celtic scored 62 goals and had a win rate of 88%. Their biggest victory was 5-0, a margin they achieved twice against Alloa and Clyde.

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Never before have Celtic and Auchinleck Talbot crossed paths in a competitive match.

On Sunday, they meet in the Scottish Cup fourth round, with non league Auchinleck hoping to cause an almighty shock.

Recent upsets across Europe might give the part-time players and long-serving manager Tommy Sloan some inspiration.

Macclesfield FC beat FA Cup holders Crystal Palace last weekend and second division Spanish side Albacete took down Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey earlier this week.

"I've actually taken in a couple of Celtic games just to help us along, to see the quality they've got," said Sloan, who has won the Scottish Junior Cup six times with Auchinleck.

"What I'm looking for is to be competitive. We don't want it to be a big disappointment at the end of the day and if we can be competitive for most of the match, I'll be delighted with that."

Sundays' match will be Martin O'Neill's first Scottish Cup fixture since lifting the trophy with Celtic in 2005.

"I'm of an age where I remember Martin O'Neill as a player, Nottingham Forrest and what not, he was one of the guys that was always on the TV, what a good player he was," added Sloan.

"It's amazing we're up against him, he's come back in and got them winning again, steadied the ship, and that says everything about him as a manager."

Celtic visit Bologna in the Europa League next week before a trip to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts but Sloan reckons the visitors will field "a strong side" at Rugby Park.

He said: "Will there be a few changes in the side? I think they're might be, but we'll see on the day. He's not really one for that, Martin O'Neill, making a lot of changes but I think with the week they've got in front of them they're might be two or three changes in their normal side."

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Celtic are preparing a loan offer for Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back Aurele Amenda, with the 22-year-old Swiss keen to move on this month. (Sky Sports), external

Lorient, Nice, Torino and Valencia have all been tracking Aurele Amenda, who is under contract with Eintracht Frankfurt until the summer of 2029. (Scottish Sun), external

Celtic have explored the conditions of a potential deal for Leeds United forward Joel Piroe. (Sky Sports), external

Leeds have no intention of sending Joel Piroe on loan and the former Swansea City player wants to stay at Elland Road. (Daily Record), external

Leading bookmakers suspended in-play betting for Sunday's Scottish Cup game between Auchinleck Talbot and Celtic amid fears of suspicious activity around betting on red and yellow cards. (Scottish Sun), external

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Winger Jocelin Ta Bi has signed for English Premier League side Sunderland after a reported move to Celtic collapsed.

The 20-year-old Ivorian, who was also wanted by clubs in France, has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at the Stadium of Light.

Ta Bi arrives on Wearside from Maccabi Netanya and ends his loan spell at Hapoel Petah Tikva, where he featured 12 times in the Israeli Premier League, scoring two goals and providing two assists.

Celtic are still searching for reinforcements and have only signed right-back Julian Araujo, on loan from Bournemouth until the end of the season, during the January window.

Speaking at Celtic's media conference on Friday, interim boss Martin O'Neill played down the prospect of landing West Ham striker Callum Wilson, but said he is hopeful of adding to the squad before next weekend's trip to face league leaders Hearts.

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Interim manager Martin O'Neill has been speaking to the media before Celtic face Auchinleck Talbot in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup this weekend.

Here are the main points:

• On reported target Callum Wilson, O'Neill suggests it's unlikely Celtic will sign the West Ham striker, saying: "I hadn't thought about that. Not that he's not a very fine player, but I thought he was going elsewhere."

• When asked for an update on new signings, O'Neill says "remarkably we're a bit closer".

• But the boss, who has had transfer questions put to him numerous times this month, admits: "I dread these interviews, I dread the questions coming up. I can't wait until 2 February."

• O'Neill says it's "absolutely essential" he gets new players in and stresses "we would like to have some people in for Hearts (25 January), if it was at all possible".

• While he doesn't think there will be new arrivals before this weekend, he's hoping it happens "by some stage next week".

• With the cup tie being played at Rugby Park instead of Auchinleck's Beechwood Park, O'Neill says "if I wasn't manager of Celtic I'd be disappointed" but admits "he's quite pleased".

• On his "good and bad" Scottish Cup memories, the 73-year-old says "I won it a few times, which is great", but he is still upset about defeat to Inverness CT in the 2003 quarter-final, which O'Neill admits "was my fault because I changed the team completely" after beating Liverpool at Anfield three days prior in the Uefa Cup.

• O'Neill is "looking forward to the game immensely" but stresses Celtic must be "really careful" and is aware of the threat Auchinleck will pose: "They have some very, very decent attributes. They are a top-quality junior side, no question about it."

• While "it would be terrific" for this season's cup final to be his final game in charge, he admits "that's a couple of light years away but that would be great if it were true".

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Celtic defender Liam Scales admits he struggled with fatigue playing in a back three during Wilfried Nancy's ill-fated reign.

The Frenchman lasted just 33 days at Celtic during which he lost six of his eight games in charge, including the League Cup final to St Mirren and Old Firm derby against Rangers.

Now Martin O'Neill is back in the dugout and Scales has been reflecting on the struggles under the previous boss.

Nancy immediately implemented a 3-4-3 formation - with defenders given licence to roam forward - and a second-half drop-off in performance level was a notable feature during his time in charge.

"Personally for me, and this isn't going to be the same for everyone, I felt that as I got tired in games, it was harder to bring quality in that final third because I hadn't played that high up as much," centre-back Scales said.

"Especially when your legs are tired, because you're doing more running, more covering in that back three, the fatigue can take away quality. For me, I felt like that is what happened with me.

"I felt good in the first half of the cup final but as the game developed I nearly ran out of steam. I think that was just out of not being used to playing in that position, and doing more running at high speed and covering more distance.

"It's not an excuse, it just takes time to get used to that, what's being asked of you physically. I think that was for me the difference."

With the defeat to Aberdeen in last season's Scottish Cup final and losing out to the Buddies in last month's League Cup showpiece, Scales is eager to avoid more knockout drama.

Celtic begin their Scottish Cup campaign on Sunday against West of Scotland Premier side Auchinleck Talbot at Rugby Park in the fourth round.

"It's just about respecting them and playing the exact same way as we play in a European game or in a cup final," the 27-year-old Ireland international said.

"It's about respecting them and not thinking that you can cruise games like this, because you can't, I've learned that in the past as well.

"We're looking forward to it. Losing two Cup finals in a row, it doesn't really happen often at a club like Celtic.

"We want to get back to winning as much as we can. This is where it starts for us now. This is our chance to get back to winning ways in these cup competitions."

Celtic have made an enquiry for West Ham United striker Callum Wilson, but a number of clubs in England and Saudi Arabia are also interested in the 33-year-old. (Sky Sports), external

Hacken will demand about £6.65m for 21-year-old Silas Andersen, with Celtic among up to five clubs preparing bids for the Denmark Under-21 midfielder, but Rangers are no longer among them. (Fotbolldirekt), external

Celtic have agreed to sell 20-year-old centre-back Mitchell Robertson, who is currently on loan to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, to Livingston. (Daily Record), external

Livingston manager David Martindale has thanked Celtic for allowing the West Lothian club to terminate Adam Montgomery's loan after the 23-year-old left-back suffered another injury setback. (The Herald), external

Celtic, Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City have registered their interest in signing 17-year-old Dundalk centre-half Vinnie Leonard. (Football Insider), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Caleb Akpo-Young
BBC Sport Scotland

Benjamin Nygren has emerged as a shining light from Celtic's underwhelming summer transfer business.

The Sweden international - who cost a reported £2m from Danish club Nordsjaelland - is Celtic's top scorer this season and came up with a big goal to eke out a scarcely-deserved win at Falkirk on Wednesday night.

Nygren's 12 goals - and six assists - from 33 appearances is a healthy return for an attacking midfielder in a team short on firepower.

Ten of his goals have come in the league and the 24-year-old would be the top scorer in the Premiership this season if you exclude penalties.

Nygren and Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland rank first in the league for goals and assists combined (13).

The Swede has also hit the woodwork three times and is showing predatory instincts - he and Motherwell's Tawanda Maswanhise rank joint top in the league for goals (10) scored inside the area.

After the "massive" win at Falkirk moved Celtic second in the Premiership - and kept them within six points of pace-setting Hearts - Nygren targeted a perfect end to the season.

"We spoke about it before the game - we need to win every game now. That's how it is," he said.

"We still play both Hearts and Rangers again, so it's still in our hands. We will do everything to turn it around.

"We all know that we need to put in stronger performances to win football games. That was not good enough. We cannot continue with performances like that, but we got the win and we're very pleased with that."

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Kasper Schmeichel has come in for plenty of criticism from Celtic fans for high-profile "howlers" - but the Dane excelled with his dad watching on to rescue victory at Falkirk.

After some key saves in a first half dominated by the Bairns, Schmeichel rekindled memories of his father in his pomp as he spread himself to brilliantly deny substitute Ethan Williams a close-range equaliser after the break.

Martin O'Neill was unimpressed by his side's performance, secured by a header on the stroke of half-time from Benjamin Nygren, but hailed 39-year-old Schmeichel's contribution.

"We didn't play well in the game," O'Neill said. "We saw it through and we can play much, much better.

"Having said this, some really decent performances. Kasper makes a great save for us, a really, really great save, which he has been doing all his life.

"Particularly when his dad was here. Great. So, there you are, emulating the father. Can't be bad."

Stephen McGowan, the Scottish football writer at large, says Schmeichel "owed" Celtic a big performance after costly mistakes.

"One of the things people always talk about is they feel Schmeichel maybe isn't as fit and conditioned as he should be," McGowan told the BBC's Scottish football podcast.

"I have no idea whether that's the case or not, but people are quick to pass judgments in this part of the world. That is the nature of the beast.

"And he has had some howlers recently. It started with the Scottish Cup final where obviously he allowed a cross to squirm under him. And he wasn't great for the third goal against Rangers recently, for example.

"So I think he owed Celtic a performance. He gave them one last night and you need that. All these guys are there for a reason, they have to do a job."

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We asked for your thoughts after Celtic dug out a 1-0 victory at Falkirk to make it two wins from two since Martin O'Neill returned.

Here are some of your comments:

John: Poor performance. Continually we are told we need signings yet, as with windows recently, we watch for signings every day and so far we have one loan deal, it's exasperating when we have a pile of money in the bank.

Peter: Awful performance but great to get three points. We were outplayed by a team that were in Championship last season. We need several new players. If O'Neill does not get them he should do what Brendan Rodgers did and walk away.

James: Not at our best but I'll take scraping out wins like this. It was a tough and sweaty game at times. Falkirk made it very difficult with their style of play and like MO'N said on another night they put those chances away so will probably feel they deserved more. Fair play to big Kasper Schmeichel too, that save kept us in front 100%.

Anthony: Mr O'Neill is making the same noises that Brendan Rodgers was making. If I were him and we don't get at least three quality players before the window shuts I would walk away. Money talks and we have plenty, so spend some of it.

Dave: Just like Rangers have been doing quietly in the background we need to win games of football. That's two wins out of two, six points two clean sheets, I'm not sure what some Celtic supporters want? Get some faces in the door and we still have a chance of winning the league. Keep the faith.

Richard: I'm bored of talking about the lack of transfer activity, however the lack of quality in the current squad was laid bare for all to see. Celtic struggled for 90 minutes against a very good Falkirk side. At a time when you are looking for a spark of inspiration, one glance at the Celtic bench was enough to realise it lacked any game-changers. This needs remedied asap.

Watch all the highlights as Martin O'Neill picked up his second victory of his second interim spell as Celtic overcame a spirited Falkirk to win 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership. (Available to UK users only)

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Chelsea and David Datro Fofana are working on a permanent exit this window, with Celtic, Royal Antwerp and Derby County all expressing interest in the 23-year-old forward who is currently on loan at Turkish Super Lig club Fatih Karagumruk. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Celtic are exploring a possible deal for NK Celje forward Franko Kovacevic, who has scored 25 goals in 28 games this season - including 14 in the Europa League and Conference League. (Sky Sports), external

Basel have reduced their asking price for Philip Otele and will consider offers in excess of £6m, with Celtic, Lazio, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City among those interested in the 26-year-old winger. (Ben Jacobs on X), external

Hibernian are expecting offers for striker Kieron Bowie in the coming weeks amid interest from Celtic and Rangers and have placed a £6.5m price tag on the 23-year-old's head. (Football Insider), external

Xavier Mbuyamba, previously linked with Celtic and Rangers, has revealed he is holding talks with other clubs, with the 24-year-old Volendam centre-back now free to sign a pre-contract agreement elsewhere. (Daily Record), external

Benjamin Nygren's 10th Scottish Premiership goal of the season gave Celtic an unconvincing - but vital - victory over Falkirk, which kept them six points behind leaders Hearts on an important night in the title race.

Have your say on Celtic's performance.

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Celtic manager Martin O'Neill: "It was on a knife edge I thought Falkirk played well.

"In the first half they had some good chances that on another night they might have scored. We were fortunate to go in at half-time 1-0 in front, we hadn't played particularly well.

"I thought second half we started to improve a bit and got a bit tighter to Falkirk which was important. Overall I'm delighted to have won the game but we can play much better.

"It's only 72 hours since we played brilliantly against Dundee United. So we're looking for a level of performance, but to win tonight considering we didn't play well was terrific."

On adding signings this month, O'Neill said: "We're hoping to do so. That's pretty necessary. We're making progress on things and certainly by the end of the window we should have some players to supplement this squad.

"There are reports about a lot of...I seem to get five or six per day. We are trying to make ground and we're doing pretty well I think.

"I thought my time was done here, so I wasn't expecting to pick up the pieces again and look at players.

"Just give us a little bit of time, cut me a little bit of slack and we'll be ok. The focus is to try and win some football matches, but the other aspect to it is to try to add to the squad if we can do.

"To add a bit of extra quality to help the players out here."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Here is the definition of the word 'chronic'. 1) persisting for a long time or constantly recurring. 2) of a very poor quality.

Celtic's recent recruitment problems snugly fit into both definitions. The club's inability over the past year to replace the goalscorers they've lost is remarkable.

It's almost exactly 12 months since Kyogo Furuhashi was sold; Adam Idah departed at the end of the last transfer window in August.

To be almost halfway through January and manager Martin O'Neill having to cancel a defender's loan due to a lack of back-up in the squad is a stark illustration of the depth of the problem.

You feel for Stephen Welsh. Surplus to requirements under previous manager Brendan Rodgers, he was farmed out to Motherwell and flourished.

He has now been recalled to Parkhead as cover. Should another central defender be signed in the next fortnight, Welsh may be sent back to Fir Park. Hardly the ringing endorsement from his employers, is it? "Come back, son, until we sign someone else."

It's further up the park where the real problems lie, of course. In addition to the departures of Furuhashi and Idah, the goals and assists of Nicolas Kuhn disappeared to Como last summer.

The only striker brought in to compensate was free agent Kelechi Iheanacho. It quickly became apparent staying fit would be problematic for the former Nigeria international.

With Daizen Maeda preferred in a wide role, and Johnny Kenny missing far too many chances to be regarded as Celtic's 'go to' number nine, it is remarkable and baffling there is still no sign of a striker at the halfway stage of this transfer window.

What has the recruitment department being doing for the past year? There must, surely, be folders full of files on prospective strikers and forwards that have been worked on? Or is that why head of football operations Paul Tisdale lost his job along with former manager Wilfried Nancy?

With assistant boss Shaun Maloney now, perhaps unexpectedly, having to lead on transfers it may be reasonable to expect some kind of delay in new arrivals.

It may also take James Bell-Walker, formerly a senior figure in scouting and talent identification at Chelsea, a wee while to get his feet under the table at Celtic.

We are dealing, however, with a problem entirely of the club's own making. Less than a year ago, they had the world at their feet, relatively speaking. Drawing 1-1 with the mighty Bayern Munich on their own patch in the Champions League knockout stages.

Here's what they've lost since then: two cup finals, two managers, a chairman, their place at the top of the Premiership and Champions League spot (to a team from Kazakhstan).

Little wonder previously disparate sections of the Celtic support are now coming together to demand better, and quickly.