Celtic last night sealed a loan deal for Jeffrey Schlupp from Crystal Palace — but failed in their attempts to sign a direct replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi. Schlupp, who’s 32, can operate at left-back, in midfield or further forward and will provide manager Brendan Rodgers with versatility going into the business end of the season. Born in Hamburg but raised in England, the Ghanaian international was a Leicester City team-mate of Kasper Schmeichel as the Foxes famously won the Premier League in 2016.

Out of contract at the end of this season, Schlupp made over 200 appearances for Palace after joining from Leicester for £12million in January 2017. ‘The team has already done brilliantly this season, both domestically and in Europe, and I know I’m joining a really successful team,’ said the player. ‘But I want to add to this, to play my own part and help us achieve even more.’. Schlupp has joined up with former Leicester City title-winning team-mate Kasper Schmeichel.

Schlupp joined Palace for £12million and scored 19 goals in 247 appearances for the Eagles. Brendan Rodgers had wanted to bring in another striker but failed to get a deal over the line. While Rodgers will be pleased to add Schlupp’s experience to his squad, he’ll be disappointed the club didn’t get the out-and-out forward he craved. Furuhashi departed for Rennes for £10m over a week ago, but Celtic had been preparing to lose him for a year.

The club had been repeatedly linked with Brondby hit-man Mathias Kvistgaarden, with Slovan Bratislava forward David Strelec also thought to be on their radar, but nothing materialised. Speaking after Sunday’s win over Motherwell, Rodgers suggested that a loan deal was now the most likely outcome but made it clear that he did expect a fresh face to arrive. ‘The club knows my feelings, they know why I came back,’ he stated.

‘I’m here to enjoy my time at Celtic, not to fall out with myself and do all the things that sometimes I maybe didn’t do the first time. ‘But the demand is still there to improve the squad. We have to. We have to make sure that there’s constant improvement. That’s been clear. ‘Hopefully, we just get the work finalised that we want to do. I don’t expect it to be hectic, but I would hope that we could come out of this window stronger. And that’s always been the plan.’.

Kyogo Furuhashi's departure has left Celtic light up front, with Adam Idah left to lead the line. While Schlupp could theoretically play up front, Adam Idah now appears to be Rodgers’ No 1 striker for the remainder of the campaign. Daizen Maeda may be asked to come in off the wing and play in the central position where he’s often been deployed by Japan. Johnny Kenny may also be given a chance to shine after St Mirren’s bid to take him on loan was turned down, although Shamrock Rovers are keen to take him for a third spell.

Clubs in Ireland have until February 22 to conclude their winter business, but Kenny would need to be in the door by Thursday midnight to be registered in time for the Europa Conference League knockout playoff tie against Molde. Daniel Cummings, who made his first-team debut at Villa Park last week, will be at Parkhead until the summer when he’s poised to join West Ham. Celtic did strengthen their wide positions this month with the £8m return of Jota from Rennes, while Kieran Tierney has agreed to come in the summer once his contract with Arsenal runs out.