Brendan Rodgers’ striker search should lead Celtic back to Millwall’s Lee Gregory

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Celtic enquired about the availability of Millwall frontman Lee Gregory last summer and he could be a welcome addition at Parkhead.

Celtic may have secured another three point haul against Partick Thistle on Friday but the manner of the narrow 1-0 away win appears to have acted as a wakeup call for manager Brendan Rodgers.

Moussa Dembele, scorer of 32 goals last season, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury while Leigh Griffiths, the only other senior striker on the club’s books, was restricted to a late cameo appearance at Firhill.

Rodgers has experimented with Tom Rogic, Scott Sinclair and most recently James Forrest leading the line as their first choice goalscorers recover from injury issues, though with limited success.

Therefore, after previously indicating that he was happy to continue with just Dembele and Griffiths to pick from, Rodgers now appears to have accepted that another centre-forward wouldn’t go amiss.

“I will definitely have to look at (signing a new striker) a little closer now,” Rodgers told the Scotsman.

“My vision is to have two strikers available and fit, pushing each other. If there’s an unavailability and it’s consistent, then I need to seriously look at that.”

This late in the window, however, it is difficult to find a striker who is both available and affordable. However, one player who could at least tick the second box is Millwall hitman Lee Gregory, who is out of contract next summer and may be available for lower than his market value.

Griffiths Mk2?

According to the Daily Mail, Celtic had enquired about Gregory’s availability last summer and his performances in the 12 months since have done little to damage his reputation.

The 28-year-old, who played non-league football as recently as 2014, netted 15 goals in 35 games last season to help Millwall earn promotion from League One while also reaching the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

He’s a quick, wiry striker who thrives on quality service. And though the step up from League One to Celtic may prove a little steep, former Wolves forward Griffiths showed that there is value to be found in England’s third tier.