[ad_pod ]

Celtic have been linked with a move for Kilmarnock defender Stephen O’Donnell by The Scottish Sun.

What’s the story?

The 27-year-old is out of contract at Rugby Park next year and the paper say Kilmarnock are keen to cash in after contract talks with the player stalled earlier this year.

The report states a number of English Championship sides are keen on his signature, with Killie fearing they’ll lose him for nothing if they let the situation go beyond the summer transfer window.

The paper also reckon Celtic could be interested in a move for him, if Neil Lennon stays on as the club’s permanent manager.

Do Celtic need him?

The Hoops are certainly in need of a right-back this season considering up to three in the position could leave this summer.

Mikael Lustig’s contract expires at the end of the season and there are no signs he will sign on for another year.

Cristian Gamboa is in a similar situation and given he has barely played this term he will surely be away.

January signing Jeremy Toljan is also set to return to parent club Borussia Dortmund after a fairly uninspiring loan spell.

That leaves just Anthony Ralston, and he’s still 20 years of age and doesn’t have the experience or ability to be a reliable regular starter for Celtic quite yet.

Celtic’s next Mulgrew?

If the Hoops did move for O’Donnell then it would have some similarities to the deal which brought full-back Charlie Mulgrew to Celtic Park back in 2010.

Signed in Lennon’s first transfer window, Mulgrew arrived from Aberdeen having been axed by the club years previously and competed well for years at left-back, at centre-back and in midfield, winning seven major honours with the club.

What if Celtic were to actually fail in their bid for the ‘treble treble’? A Celtic fan dicsusses in the video below…

O’Donnell may lack that versatility but he’s also passed through Celtic’s doors as a youngster, released at the age of 19 before joining Partick Thistle and subsequently Killie.

Having already won 7 Scotland caps, training and playing alongside the likes of Callum McGregor, James Forrest and Kieran Tierney, O’Donnell would be a known quantity who can help fill a problem position in Lennon’s team if he is given the job.