Sheridan lined up for move to Bulgaria

Published on Friday 30 July 2010 19:07

CELTIC striker Cillian Sheridan is in line for a surprise £350,000 move to CSKA Sofia, with the Irish striker in the Bulgarian capital this weekend for talks about a possible transfer.

The 21-year-old has spent most of the past two seasons on loan but was part of the Celtic squad for the recent tour of America. But with Gary Hooper's arrival knocking Sheridan down to fifth in Neil Lennon's striker pecking order behind Georgios Samaras, Marc Antoine Fortune and Morten Rasmussen, Celtic are open to cashing in on the player as he enters the final year of his contract.

Sheridan enjoyed a sucessful stint with St Johnstone in the second half of last season, his form earning him a full international debut in May. His likely departure comes on the back of the sales of Stephen McManus, Artur Boruc, Zheng Zhi, Simon Ferry and Paul Caddis that have raised in the region of 4 million, the sum Lennon has so far spent extensively reshaping his squad.

Any move by Aiden McGeady would greatly strengthen the Celtic manager's hand in the transfer market but according to quotes attributed to the Celtic winger in a daily Russian sports newspaper, McGeady says it is "unlikely" he would move to Spartak Moscow, so far the only serious bidders for him with a 9m offer. McGeady is reported to have said he did not believe the move to Russia would improve him as a player.

The 24-year-old made his first appearance of the season in yesterday's 2-2 draw against Lyon but was overshadowed by 19-year-old James Forrest on the opposite wing. Lennon admitted McGeady had been "a bit flat" after his injury lay-off but said he would feature today against Arsenal providing the back injury said to have kept him out of the 3-0 Champions League defeat in Braga did not play-up overnight. And if he came through this afternoon, Lennon would consider him for the return leg in Glasgow on Wednesday. "It will be a football decision," he said, a reference to the suggestions he was not played in Portugal so he would not be ineligible to apear for Spartak in the Champions League.