Celtic could land Scott McKenna for a cut-price deal this January with Nottingham Forest keen to avoid losing the defender on a free, according to a report.

The Scotland international is out of favour at the Premier League club. He is out of contract in the summer. 

The 27-year-old has been plying his trade at the City Ground since his move from Aberdeen in 2020.

Reports earlier this week suggested Brendan Rodgers would target the experienced defender as part of his winter window plans to bolster his Celtic squad amid the title race with Rangers.

And if he is a target they choose to pursue, then he could be available for a much lower fee than would usually be expected for a play of his calibre as Forest doesn't want him walking away for nothing in six months, says Football Insider.

Meanwhile, if any new arrivals at Celtic last summer were unsure of what is expected of them when they pulled on the jersey, then they know for sure now. Something that has been evident in their last four performances going into the winter break.

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Those wins, particularly the victory over Rangers on Saturday, have ensured that the mid-December dip that saw the champions lose to Kilmarnock and Hearts in successive matches has been offset somewhat, if not completely forgotten.

The players themselves certainly remember it, and the criticism that followed too both externally and internally as reminders were served that the standards demanded at the club had slipped.

That memory is a factor driving their recent upturn in both performance and outcome according to full-back Greg Taylor, though if anyone within the Celtic dressing room hadn’t picked up the message that things had to improve immediately following those losses, he has been sure to spell it out for them.