Everton in frame to sign Nikica Jelavic as Pawel Brozek agrees Celtic loan

Ally McCoist is desperate to keep hold of Croatian striker Jelavic, with the transfer window closing tomorrow, but with West Ham having had a bid turned down last week and Everton now in the hunt, the player’s future is in the balance.

Jelavic has made no secret of his desire to play in the English Premier, and Everton have money to spend after the sale of Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov to Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee. Everton manager David Moyes was credited with an interest in the player before Jelavic joined Rangers from Rapid Vienna in 2010.

The 26-year-old Jelavic missed Saturday’s 4-0 win over Hibernian with McCoist insisting that the player was ill and not resting to avoid injury before he is sold.

Meanwhile, Celtic manager Neil Lennon confirmed the capture of Brozek for the rest of the season following the Parkhead side’s 3-1 win over Falkirk at Hampden which takes them into the final of the Scottish Communities League Cup, where they will face Kilmarnock.

Rangers had also expressed interest in the 28-year-old, without actually making an approach.

Celtic have won the race for the Pole’s signature on a temporary basis, with Brozek keen to catch the eye before this summer’s European Championship finals, which are being jointly held by his home country.

Lennon described the striker as being in the same mould as Maciej Zurawski, a former team-mate at Celtic. Zurawski arrived at Parkhead in 2005 and made an instant impact, scoring 20 times in his first season.

Lennon denied that the move, which involves no loan fee, had been motivated by a desire to get one over title rivals Rangers.

“We have been involved with players before where Rangers have nipped in,” he said. “I am not saying we have nipped in. We have been tracking him for quite a while. We try to keep things under the radar, as with all our business.

“I don’t get involved with agents and the negotiating side of things. We have a list as long as your arm. We are just ticking off, ticking off. This one has come to fruition. We are very pleased about that.

“He scored a lot of goals in Poland [with Wisla Krakow] and I can’t keep relying on Gary [Hooper] and Stokesy for the goals. If one of them gets injured or suspended we could be a goalscorer short. Pawel’s goalscoring record in Poland is excellent. He has gone to Trabzonspor and for whatever reason it has not worked out in terms of the amount of games he has played. It might be due to formation or whatever. But what we do know is that he is a goalscorer – right foot, left foot, he can head the ball as well. He is very, very sharp.

“The other thing is that he has the European champinships in front of him and he needs to play. He needs to stake a claim. He has come here very motivated and he needs to play and be successful.

“He is a bit like Hooper. He is sharp and has good feet, and is 5ft 10in. He is a bit like Zurawski was when he first came. He is a family man. I don’t think the bright lights of Glasgow will faze him too much.”