Neil Lennon could swoop for Celtic’s Kris Commons

Commons has been at Celtic since January 2011. Picture: Jane Barlow

The prolific attacker, who Lennon paid £300,000 to bring to Celtic Park back in January 2011, will see his current deal expire at the end of this season.

The player has been in discussions with Celtic over a new contract since Lennon’s days in charge of the first team, but so far an agreement has not materialised and Lennon could be poised to take advantage of the situation.

Bolton’s hopes could be boosted further by the ongoing speculation regarding Commons and his role within the team under new manager Ronny Deila. The former Scottish international was omitted from the starting XI for Celtic’s crucial Champions League qualifier against Maribor, leading to reports that Commons was considering his future.

With Celtic struggling in the league table and competing in European competition it is unlikely the club will let Commons go willingly. However, they might be tempted to cash in on their asset in January if a contract extension cannot be thrashed out before then.

Lennon officially became the new manager of Bolton on Sunday. The former fan favourite as a player spent just over four years as manager at Celtic Park, winning four trophies and reaching the Champions League knockout stages in 2012. He resigned in May of this year and had been looking for a new job until the English Championship club came calling.

Commons is the Scottish Premiership’s reigning top goalscorer and has hit the back of the net 71 times since his 2011 switch from Derby County.

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•Celtic missing Kris Commons’ touch