Journalist Ryan McDonald has backed up the expectation that Celtic will prioritise a move for a holding midfielder during the winter transfer window.
The Bhoys left themselves particularly short in the summer by failing to source a replacement for Arne Engels. Engels was Celtic's highest-quality player, and the Hoops knew he would leave after being denied a move back in January.
In the end, it was West Ham who signed Engels on a £22million deal, making him the most expensive signing in EFL history. But Celtic still didn't manage to replace him, ultimately settling for a couple of young and loan signings, with Mika Baur realistically having been brought in in anticipation of Reo Hatate's late-window exit.
Baur has been excellent, but he is not a holding midfielder, and it's no secret that McGregor has struggled to deal with the pace of better teams, now 33 years of age and lacking pace.
The Hoops are going to have to find a solution to that problem, and it does not exist in their current squad, meaning a signing in January is imperitive, especially if they remain in Europe.
Fortunately, Celtic are planning to sign one, and that expectation has been backed up by Daily Record journalist McDonald.
He has said: "There just seems to be a constant breakdown between defence and midfield and I think that’s because they have there’s a massive gap there which is unfilled by Arne Engles’s exit.
"So I spoke to Martin O’Neill quite recently on this and asked him, you know are Celtic actually looking to sign a replacement for Engels and he admitted that Celtic hadn’t signed a replacement in the summer.
"So he said that work is on going behind the scenes to identify that player and I think that’s got to be a priority. The thing is Celtic can’t wait until like they always do and then to the end of the window to bring this player in.
"They need, I think it needs to be done ideally before that Rangers game at Ibrox because I think that’s that is an absolutely crucial fixture in the season."
He added: "Straight from the word of Martin O’Neil they are looking at a defensive midfielder that is a that’s absolutely top priority.."
Who Celtic will sign is another question. They tried to sign Gvidas Gineitis during the summer window, but form has since tailed off, as have his minutes. It will be interesting to see if that forces Celtic into a rethink.
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