Serie A club ‘chasing’ out-of-favour Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke

Hellas Verona are the latest Italian club to consider a loan move for Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke, according to a report.

The Swedish defender only arrived from Elfsborg in Glasgow in the summer for a fee of around £3.5m.

However, the 23-year-old has struggled for game time under Brendan Rodgers and he could well be headed for the Parkhead exit door already.

He’s fallen behind Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki, Liam Scales and Stephen Welsh in the pecking order at centre-back. He’s also had injury issues to contend with.

And the Daily Record states that Verona are the latest Serie A club to register an interest in the defender. It’s said that Genoa and Leece are also keen.

Rodgers could look to move Lagerbielke out this month in order to free up room in the wage budget.

Of course, Verona has tapped into the Scottish market in recent years with the signing of Hibernian’s Josh Doig.

With plans to sell the left-back, they have also recently been linked with a move for Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz, should the 21-year-old get his big-money move elsewhere, with a deal to join Marseille having collapsed over the weekend.

While looking to move fringe players out, Rodgers is also keen to add additional quality to his ranks. Nicolas Kuhn was his first signing from Rapid Vienna.

The Hoops are also targeting a striker and a left-back. Owen Beck – who spent the first half of the season on loan at Dundee – and Tiago Araujo are two in that position who have been linked this window.

Meanwhile, new Celtic arrival Nick Kuhn is placing his friendship with Rangers striker Danilo on hold after making the move to Glasgow, with the best pals now on either side of the city’s footballing divide.

Kuhn and Danilo played together for the Ajax second-string earlier in their career, where they would often socialise together away from football, and they remain close to this day.