Newcastle and Aston Villa enter race for Glenn Murray

Celtic look set to face competition in the race to sign Glenn Murray as Aston Villa and Newcastle express an interest in signing the striker.

The veteran striker emerged as a potential January target for Celtic over the weekend, with the Hoops reportedly seeing the 36-year-old as a short-term option until the end of the season.

However Villa and Newcastle could now rival Celtic, with Guardian Sport’s deputy news editor Ed Aarons revealing the Premier League pair are also ‘considering’ a loan deal for Murray.

Twitter: Aston Villa and Newcastle consider move for Brighton’s Glenn Murray https://t.co/U9hBy3Vrc7 (@ed_aarons)

READ CELTIC VERDICT

Celtic’s interest in Murray came as little surprise after Billy Sharp ruled out a move away from Sheffield United amid interest from the Hoops, given how Neil Lennon appears to be in the market for an experienced goalscorer.

Both Sharp and Murray are entering the latter stages of their respective careers but have both scored consistently since making their debuts, with the pair netting over 200 goals each in all competitions after making over 500 appearances each.

However with Odsonne Edouard, Vakoun Bayo and Leigh Griffiths already at the club, and Celtic also linked with the high profile moves for the likes of Andraz Sporar and Tino Kadewere, a move for Murray appears slightly unnecessary.

Lennon would therefore be better off prioritising a move for either Sporar or Kadewere and moving on to strengthening other areas of his squad.