John Kennedy admits Celtic transfer urgency as talks ongoing over Idah and Bernardo plus new keeper

John Kennedy admits signing a new goalkeeper is a top priority for Celtic with talks also ongoing over the returns of Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo.

The Hoops assistant manager confirmed that the champions are locked in negotiations as they seek to bring in a replacement for the recently retired Joe Hart. Celts return to pre-season training tomorrow without a first-choice keeper in the building and Kennedy is keen for the gloves to be filled as soon as possible.

He told Sky Sports: "I think the club are working hard on that. Some targets have been identified and we've been working on that in the background. It's a key position for us, we know it's a position we need to get in. We want to do that as soon as we can so hopefully in the coming weeks we can have some news on that.

"There are obviously some challenges in terms of the negotiations that will take place. But ultimately, we know it's a key position for us. We want to get the key positions in as quickly as we can so we get to work with them and the manager and the board are working hard on that."

Brendan Rodgers is also keen to secure Idah and Bernardo on permanent deals after the pair impressed on loan last season. An agreement has yet to be struck with Norwich City and Benfica but Kennedy was relaxed over the situation.

He said: "I think there's a lot of conversations happening. It's a time when a lot of players have been on holiday and different things have been happening.

"A lot of conversations have been taking place. We come back for pre-season and hopefully in the coming weeks a few things will start to happen but there's a lot of plates spinning and a lot of work getting done. Hopefully we'll start to see that materialise over the coming weeks."