Neil Lennon: 'Celtic need a proven European striker'

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has hinted that the club is unable to compete financially with other sides in the Champions League.

The Scottish Premiership side opened up their Group H campaign with a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan on Wednesday evening.

Lennon has claimed that due to a paucity of funds, his side lack "a Champions League goalscorer."

"What do you class as a Champions League goalscorer? Van Persie? Well they cost £20m," he told BBC Sport. "We don't have £20m or £30m to spend on a striker like that.

"Of course we lack a Champions League goalscorer. Messi? Ronaldo? Shevchenkno? They're proven Champions League goalscorers, you just don't buy them.

"We've lacked a Champions League goalscorer since I took over. We haven't had that since Henrik Larsson. They cost a lot of money and they're hard to find."

Celtic face Barcelona in their next Champions League match on October 1.