Neil Lennon has no intention of letting Odsonne Edouard leave Celtic this month as the Hoops gear up for the second half of the season.
Leicester are reportedly keen on the 21-year-old French striker, whom Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers brought to Glasgow in 2017 when he was in charge at Parkhead, first on loan before signing him in a £9million deal from Paris St Germain.
Reports have claimed Rodgers will come in with a bid as high as £30million at the end of the season.
Lennon is focused on the present and is aware his side lead Rangers at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership by only two points, with the Light Blues having a game in hand and boosted by the Old Firm victory at the end of last year.
Speaking to Sky Sports Scotland from the Parkhead club’s training camp in Dubai, the Northern Irishman, looking to guide Celtic to a ninth successive league title, was asked if Edouard’s departure at some point was inevitable.
He said: “It might be inevitably but certainly not in the short term. We want Odsonne here.
“We have a huge second half of the season and he has made a huge contribution with his play, his goals, his influence on the team and we are certainly not in a position to want to lose that right now.”
On his own transfer possibilities, the former Celtic captain said: “We have a couple of options bubbling under.
“There won’t be anything done today but we are hoping in the next few days that we might have one or two bodies in.
“We might be looking in the wide area (as well as a striker). There won’t be too many, I don’t think.”
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe