MX23RW : Tuesday, April 23 06:25:06| >> :600:126893:126893:

Neil Lennon reveals Leigh Griffiths is "hungry" to play for Celtic

Neil Lennon reveals Leigh Griffiths is
© Reuters
The 29-year-old Scotland striker had a lengthy spell out earlier in the season.

Leigh Griffiths has told Celtic boss Neil Lennon that he is hungry for action.

The 29-year-old Scotland striker had a lengthy spell out earlier in the season due to injuries and personal problems and has not started a Hoops match since a meaningless Europa League group game against Cluj in Romania on December 12, with five subsequent substitute appearances last month.

Griffiths' future was subject to speculation when Poland Under-21 forward Patryk Klimala signed a four-and-half year deal from Jagiellonia Bialystok earlier this week, ostensibly as back up to number one striker Odsonne Edouard, with attacker Vakoun Bayo also at the club  recovering from injury.

However, ahead of the William Hill Scottish Cup fourth-round tie against Partick Thistle on Saturday, boss Lennon was asked if any other strikers were on the horizon.

"We have Odsonne in and Griff and Griff is looking good," said the Hoops boss, who confirmed Celtic have agreed a deal with Israeli side Bnei Yehuda to sign midfielder Ismaila Soro.

"He had a good Dubai trip and trained well again this week so maybe not.

"We will see how things go over the next few weeks.

"I can't comment on speculation surrounding any player really.

"There has been a lot in the last few months about Griff.

"But he is hungry and he wants to play and he has made that pretty clear to me."

Reports claim Ivory coast striker Bayo has asked to leave the club on loan for the second half of the season.

Lennon said: "I have no inclination about that at all.

"Bayo has had a few injuries but he is just coming back from a long-term injury. He is back in training now.

"We are hoping there will be a couple of deals done this week where people either go on loan or go permanently.

"There will be two or three players maybe going to leave."

Soro,  21, who was born in the Ivory Coast, played in Moldova and Belarus before moving to Israel in 2018.

"I think a deal has been agreed," Lennon added.

"We are waiting on paperwork now so hopefully that can be resolved over the next few days.

"It will be a good. He is a good player, strong, technically very good, quick across the ground, hungry.

"He is like a number six, very powerful. Gets the ball back, good close control, quite smart with the passes but at that age he still has a bit of work to do in terms of his tactical awareness.

"We like what we saw. We will give him time to adapt but I think he can play some games between now and the end of the season.

"We have done a lot of work on him. We done a lot of work on Klimala and he is in the building.

"It is good to get a couple of players in to freshen things up a bit.

"It gives a lift. Training has been good and the boys are itching to get back into it.

"We had a good week in Dubai and a good week this week so looking forward to the game tomorrow."

ID:386437: cacheID:386437:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4566:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Celtic manager Neil Lennon on October 24, 2019
Read Next:
Brattbakk: 'Pressure on Celtic is greater now than in 1998'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!