Celtic tie up Pawel Brozek loan deal but face fight to land Johnny Russell

CELTIC last night completed the loan signing of Polish international striker Pawel Brozek for the rest of the season and have not yet given up on adding further attacking reinforcements to Neil Lennon’s squad before the transfer window closes tonight.

Dundee United have rebuffed two enquiries from Celtic for their highly-rated 21-year-old striker Johnny Russell, with the Parkhead club understood to have offered their out-of-favour Danish international forward Morten Rasmussen as part of a potential deal.

But Dundee United are unwilling to drop their £1.5 million valuation of Russell who is also the subject of interest from Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay.

Celtic missed out on another of their striking targets, giant Austrian international Marc Janko, when he moved from Twente Enchede to Porto yesterday.

Lennon’s determination to give himself as many attacking options as possible for the rest of the season has reaped a reward, however, in the shape of Brozek’s arrival on loan from Trabzonspor until the summer. Celtic will have an option to sign the 28-year-old on a permanent deal.

Brozek, who was also wanted by Rangers manager Ally McCoist, passed a medical in Glasgow yesterday and will be formally unveiled by the SPL leaders at a media conference today.

“I’m very happy because Celtic were very determined to sign me and it didn’t take a long time,” Brozek said last night, revealing that the strong connections between Polish players and his new club had been a significant factor in him deciding to make the move.

“I spoke with Lukasz Zaluska and Maciej Zurawski and they said only positive things about the club,” he added. “So when I heard there was an offer from Celtic I wanted to go straight away.

“They said the fans are fantastic here, the top organisation of the club, and the great name the club has in the world. It’s all happened very quickly.

“It was a really nice surprise because it’s a big club and a big name in Europe.

“It’s a very nice city and a great place to play football. And there is a very good manager and coach. The team is very good and there are excellent training facilities.

“I knew before I signed about the club’s history, and the kind of pressure to win every game and the championship, so the history, the fans and the team and the determination of the club to bring me here were all reasons why I came.

“It’s also important that we have won so many games in the last couple of months and there are also plenty of chances to score.

“But I don’t like to speak about myself. I would rather show what I can do on the park and will try to do the best I can for the club.”

Celtic were also involved in hectic loan activity in the other direction yesterday with three of their players moving out for the rest of the season.

Scotland international right-back Mark Wilson was the highest profile departure as he headed to Leeds United.

Wilson, who was sidelined by injury for another spell this season, has found himself down the first team pecking order behind Adam Matthews and Cha Du Ri.

The player took part in a bounce match against Leeds United last week and that allowed Elland Road manager Simon Grayson to assess his fitness.

The right-back joined Celtic from Dundee United in 2006 for a fee of £500,000 but has endured a tough time with injuries over the past few years.

Celtic also loaned out two of their younger players, with striker James Keatings joining St Johnstone and defender Lewis Toshney moving to Kilmarnock, both of them for the remainder of the season.