Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths is seeking his best form.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon has told The Scottish Sun that he has no plans to send striker Leigh Griffiths out on loan during the January transfer window.
The Bhoys sit top of the Scottish Premiership by five points after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen, and are into the knockout stages of the Europa League too.
It’s going well for Celtic this season, but Lennon may still be in the market for new signings in next month’s transfer window – and a striker looks set to be a priority.
More support is needed for Odsonne Edouard given that Vakoun Issouf Bayo hasn’t yet made an impact at Celtic, and a couple of names have already been linked.
That may call the future of Leigh Griffiths into question, given that the 29-year-old has mostly been used as a substitute this season.
Griffiths took a break from football for the second half of last season, before returning to make an impact in pre-season and the Europa League qualifying campaign.
The Scot could still make an impression this season, but as he attempts to build up his fitness, some feel he may need to go out on loan to get playing again.
However, Lennon claims there are no plans for Griffiths to go out on loan, suggesting he is too good of a player to let go, and believes he is making the necessary progress to be a factor in 2020, claiming he’s now looking better in training.
“It’ll be important for Leigh and he knows that. He can be an asset for us,” said Lennon. “He won’t be going anywhere on loan, he’s too good a player for that and he’s not making waves to go. Day by day, week by week, he’s looking better in training. If we can get him fully fit for the long haul, there’s no way I’d let him go on loan.”
“He seems happy and he doesn’t seem distracted by anything. He’s making good progress and he’s very willing. We gave the boys a day off on Thursday and he came in — that’s a really good sign for me. I don’t know if he’d have done that in the past, probably not. He knows he’s got to stay on top of things and he’s doing that as best he can,” he added.
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