JASON DENAYER has been told by officials at Manchester City that he is surplus to requirements.

The former Celtic defender has had spells at Sunderland, and two stints at Galatasaray since his Hoops loan under Ronny Deila.

However, the defender is still only 23 and after making the Belgian 2016 Euro squad he fell out of favour with the national team and didn’t make the World Cup team.

Celtic’s replacement for Denayer, Dedryk Boyata did, however, make the World Cup and played in three of his countries group games.

The centre-back has two-years left to run on his lucrative Man City contract but it’s believed the player wants regular first team football and City won’t stand in his way should a side come in for him.

Celtic are crying out for some quality cover at centre back and could do a lot worse than signing the player, perhaps on an initial loan deal with a set fee at the end of the deal.

A lot of Celtic fans wouldn’t welcome the move as there’s a certain amount of hurt feelings involved when a player leaves the club. There’s also an element that will say it would be a backwards move because the Belgian has played with Celtic before.

But if the defender had a great season with the bhoys when he was 19 and has had a wealth of experience since then – adding onto that his knowledge of the club, the league and the expectations, it would seem like a no-brainer.