Celtic's Daryl Murphy says Liam Lawrence can fill midfielder Aiden McGeady's shoes

Daryl Murphy has backed Liam Lawrence to deliver the goods if his former Sunderland team-mate joins him at Celtic Park.

Lawrence has long been tipped to move to Parkhead and the Stoke midfielder expects the initial interest to come to fruition if Aiden McGeady completes his move to Spartak Moscow. McGeady looks set to sign for Spartak this week after holding talks with the Russian club and saying his farewells to his Celtic team-mates. And, although Murphy admits any team would miss McGeady's trickery, he feels Republic of Ireland team-mate Lawrence could add something different to the team.

"I know Liam from my time at Sunderland and he's a very good player," said summer signing Murphy. "He will give a bit of balance on the right side of midfield. He's a hard worker and is very good at deliveries, and pops up with a lot of goals.

"There are a lot of names being linked with the club, but if it was to come off it would be a very good signing." Although McGeady and Lawrence play in the same position, Murphy does not believe there are too many similarities in their styles.

"They are two totally different players," the 27-year-old said. "Aiden can go past people at will. Liam gets the ball and crosses the ball, which is sometimes what you need when you're in the box. But of course, Aiden will be a huge loss if he does end up going."

Celtic manager Neil Lennon admitted on Sunday that he was resigned to McGeady departing. But Lennon hopes that Paddy McCourt can have a similar impact on matches as the Russia-bound winger if he can maintain a decent level of fitness. The Northern Ireland international scored several sublime goals last term after being virtually anonymous in his injury-hit debut season at Parkhead.

McCourt has only started five Celtic matches but he recently signed a new three-year contract and Murphy is in no doubt he can help atone for the loss of McGeady.

"I've always known of his ability," the former Waterford striker said. "I played against him a few years ago in the under-21s. And when I was playing in the League of Ireland, he was playing for Shamrock Rovers. Everyone knew about his ability, people would talk about it. Since I've been training with him, you can see it's there.

"He's been unfortunate with injuries since he came here but he looks to be flying in training and, touch wood, he keeps injury-free. He has got everything you need in a player. Sometimes you just stand back and admire his skill because you don't realise how skilful he is until you actually train with him. If he keeps fit and gets a good run of games, I'm sure he will be a quality player for us," added Murphy who was speaking at the launch of the club's new free online video archive, the Celtic Viewer.

Meanwhile, Arsenal youngster Nacer Barazite was handed the chance to win a move to Rangers when a second-string Ibrox XI took on Glentoran at the Oval last night. The 20-year-old striker, who has played three times for the Gunners first team, has represented Holland at all youth levels and has three caps for their under-21 side.