Strachan intent on building the ultimate strike force

CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan has revealed he wants to build Scottish football’s ultimate strike force.

The former Southampton manager has borrowed Arsenal frontman Jeremie Aliadiere for a year and believes the 22-year-old has the pace to trouble any defence.

And the man who inherited John Hartson and Chris Sutton from the Martin O’Neill era remained confident the club would go on to seal the €3.1m capture of prolific Poland striker Maciej Zurawski.

On top of all that, Strachan insisted that bringing Craig Bellamy back to Parkhead was still a top priority.

He said: “We are hoping to have a striking unit that is capable of doing everything.

“We need to have pace, ability in the air, ability on the ground, change of pace and work-rate.

“I do feel that at any club pace is huge, especially a change of pace, and the most important thing at a football club is goals.Once you have those then the rest you can put together.”

The Zurawski deal has been hanging in the balance for more than a week now, even though the player has decided he wants to leave Wisla Krakow for Parkhead.

The two clubs have yet to agree on the payment structure but Strachan remains confident.

He said: “I have known deals that have taken longer than this. We have done a lot of work on it so I wouldn’t like it to fall through.

“Plus I spent two days bouncing about in the back of a car in Poland so I would like to get something from that.”

Despite the arrival of Aliadiere and the expected signing of Zurawski, Strachan insisted the club was still pushing hard to sign Wales striker Bellamy.

Newcastle want a cash-only deal in the region of €7.4m for the man who was loaned to Celtic last season.

Strachan said: “We are still hanging in there. We are still trying hard and you never know with deals.

“It would be brilliant to have all these strikers. It would give me more options.”

Strachan needs a goalkeeper too following the departure of Robert Douglas to Leicester City and he revealed there were still a number of names in the frame.

Southampton’s Antti Niemi is understood to be his first choice but with the Saints valuing him at more than €3m a cheaper alternative, like Legia Warsaw’s Artur Boruc, may end up being purchased.

Strachan admitted: “There are about five we are looking at and it is the budget of the club that comes first.”

Meanwhile, Strachan has revealed that centre-back Bobo Balde has decided to stay at the club despite interest from German clubs and a free transfer clause in his contract.