Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League midfielder and current Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes Celtic only want Eddie Howe.

While Howe is now said to be close to being named Celtic manager, the ex-Bournemouth boss had left the Glasgow giants waiting for a while.

It had seen Celtic consider other options, with Football Insider recently reporting that the Bhoys have interviewed former Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre and Roy Keane.

Hendrie, though, is convinced that Howe is the only real candidate that the Celtic hierarchy are desperate to bring to the club.

Speaking exclusively to TT about Howe and Celtic's search for a new permanent manager, the ex-Aston Villa star said:

"I'm pretty sure that Celtic want him there for sure because he just seems to be the prime suspect that they want at the football club just for the way he plays and his style of football, which is certainly attractive.

"It just seems like he's dragging his feet a little bit and that's my only concern."

If reports are to believed, then this long saga could be about to come to an end, which would be great news for Celtic.

After an extremely disappointing season, the Bhoys will be desperate to start planning for the next campaign where the aim will be to wrestle their title back from rivals Rangers - something they cannot do properly without having a manager.