Freddie can be my VIP not an OAP, says Lennon
The former Arsenal star, 33, is training with the Parkhead club this week with a view to a deal but there are mixed opinions about the potential signing of a midfielder who played latterly in the USA after injuries blighted his time at West Ham.
However, the Celtic boss claimed the Swedish legend, who trained for the first time with the Hoops on Monday, is still in good condition and positively youthful in comparison to 40-year-old Weir, who remains a mainstay of the Ibrox defence.
“Davie Weir is 40 and he has played more or less every minute of every game last season and he’s played in most of the games this season,” Lennon said.
“So compared to Davie, Freddie is a junior.
“It is very difficult to make decisions on one day’s training but we like what we see.
“He’s got that quality, there’s no doubt about it and he is the type of player we are looking to bring in.
“He looked very sharp yesterday and his experience is vital.
“He has had a great career so far and at 33 he is still relatively young in the modern day and he will still have a lot to offer.”
“It’s difficult to sign players on long-term deals in January, but this is an opportunity that we would be foolish to miss out on,” added Lennon, who revealed Canada international Dwayne De Rosario has also arrived at the club’s Lennoxtown training ground for a week’s trial.
“Johan Mjallby (assistant) obviously knows (Freddie) very well from his Sweden days and the career he had at Arsenal.
“He had problems at West Ham but they were fixed and he has played a lot of games in America in the last 18 months.
“I think he has the hunger to play in Europe and win things and that’s why he is here.”
The Irishman, though, dampened down expectations that Celtic fans could first see Ljungberg against Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.
“It might be a bit early for that, we don’t know yet,” he said
“He could be in contention if the deal is done but I wouldn’t look too far into that.
“You have to look at his general fitness levels and how he approaches the intensity of the training and then you have to assess if he is ready to be thrown straight in to a game.
“He ticks all the boxes from what I’ve seen so far but I’m only going on one day.”
Speaking at Lennoxtown ahead of tonight’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash against Motherwell at Celtic Park, Lennon spoke about the qualities of De Rosario, the 32-year-old Toronto FC midfielder.
“He’s a similar player to Shaun Maloney, he likes to play off the left and come inside.
“He is a skilful, sharp and an intelligent player. Again it’s an opportunity for us to have a look and see what he can offer us.”
Lennon was less expansive about one report claiming he was interested in taking Tottenham midfielder Niko Kranjcar on a loan deal. The Croatia international has not been a regular in north London and could be available.
Lennon said: “You have thrown a name at me. I will only comment on them when it is done and dusted or if they are here.”
“We are going to get linked with a lot of players.”
While most of the focus is on players who might be coming in to Parkhead, defender Cha Du-Ri and midfielder Ki Sung-yueng are away on Asian Cup duty with South Korea and could miss most of January.
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