Reliable Celtic reporter Kieran Devlin has been reacting to rumours linking the Hoops with a move for Derby County left-back Lee Buchanan.

Celtic were linked with a swoop for Buchanan over the summer but failed to get a deal over the line for the 20-year-old.

Described as a player with a ‘bright future’, who Wayne Rooney is ‘sure will play for England’ and labelled as 'one of the best young left-backs in the country', Buchanan has made 13 appearances for The Rams this season.

Reports last month suggested that the Hoops have recently sent top scout Mick Doherty to watch him in action – the first step in a possible January swoop.

The Latest: Devlin reacts

Devlin shared a story on The Athletic on Wednesday, looking at which areas Celtic could look to add to in January.

One of those was at left-back, with Greg Taylor missing the last 11 games through injury.

Devlin responded to a question regarding the links to Buchanan, confirming there was interest over the summer from the Hoops before urging the club to bring in a head of recruitment prior to the winter window.

“There was interest in the summer, don't know myself if it's been resurrected, but having watched him on scouting platforms and looked at the stats I'm (personally) sceptical he'd improve the first team. Think it's incredibly important a head of recruitment/someone with football operations experience is brought into the club over the next two months.”

The Verdict: Left-back needs sorting

The likes of Adam Montgomery, Liam Scales and Boli Bolingoli have all failed to make the left-back spot their own with Taylor out, with Josip Juranovic switching over from right-back in recent weeks.

On that basis, and if they are serious on Buchanan, then perhaps the Hoops should look to move Bolingoli on in January to make room for his potential arrival.

He’s the oldest of the three mentioned, with Montgomery and Scales possibly options for the future. Bolingoli is also on £15,000-a-week at Parkhead and has made just three appearances in green and white since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, so it seems to make sense to get his wages off the bill.

In other news: £6.8m: McKay missed out on 'extraordinary' ace who's 'like Busquets' before he left Celtic.