“This is true”: Fabrizio Romano reports that Celtic want to sign a 23-year-old forward before deadline.

With less than three days until the transfer window closes, Celtic fans will be hoping that Brendan Rodgers has some tricks up his sleeve to bolster the squad for the title run-in.

With names like Lawrence Shankland floating around and reports of an interest in Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski making the rounds, it appears that Celtic are actively trying to bolster the squad before Thursday night’s deadline.

But it appears that the rumours surrounding Dutch striker Sydney van Hooijdonk are not going away, and transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has stated that Celtic are definitely looking to sign the Serie A player.

Romano told [GiveMeSport]: “It’s a concrete possibility. The player wants to leave. He wants to depart because he wants to play, but Bologna have signed Santiago Castro from Velez, so he won’t have much space in the squad.

“They also have Joshua Zirkzee, who is doing fantastic in that position. So, the expectation is for van Hooijdonk to leave in the window’s final days.

“There is interest from different countries, from the Eredivisie, and I’m also hearing from Portugal. A club from Portugal have tried to approach Bologna for van Hooijdonk. There is also Celtic interest; this is true. So, there are three or four possibilities.

“I think van Hooijdonk will decide with Bologna at the beginning of the week because they want to ensure he will play regularly. This is important for Bologna as they trust the player for the future.”

TBR Celtic first revealed their interest in van Hooijdonk in November, when reports suggested that the Hoops and Bologna could work out a loan deal.

The 23-year-old was capped at u21 level for the Netherlands but has yet to score an international goal.

Van Hooijdonk has one goal in 11 appearances for Bologna, the majority of which have come from the bench, and he is still struggling to not only score but also get game time for the Serie A club.

Contracted until 2025, a significant fee would be required to sign the youngster permanently, so a loan deal until the end of the season may be a better option, but there is no doubt that Celtic’s interest appears genuine, and it will be interesting to see how things play out this week.

In other news, Joe Hart response on Celtic fans’ boos after win over Ross County