Chelsea caused a fair stir in January north of the border. With press speculation linking Moussa Dembele and Craig Gordon with moves away from Celtic to Stamford Bridge, it seemed as though two of the Hoops' biggest performers were destined for life in London.

Neither move materialised with time appearing to run out on the Asmir Begovic/Craig Gordon merry-go-round and Celtic being extremely hesitant about losing their in-form striker so early in his career at Celtic Park.

The summer window is just a few short months way though and while the big money move for Dembele may be batted away by Celtic again, a deal for Craig Gordon likely could be done.

The goalkeeper's contract runs out this summer with the club holding an option for another year and given he still hasn't signed an extended deal, the Blues could tempt him again with a move down south.

Here are THREE reasons why Gordon is still the Celtic target Chelsea should be looking at...

Still doing it at the top level

While many may be quick to write off Scottish football and Gordon's ability to be an effective goalkeeper for Chelsea, the truth is he's still getting it done at the highest level.

The Scottish international made a number of key saves in the UEFA Champions League earlier this season, including the one pictured above from a Luis Suarez effort.

That's vital for Antonio Conte and Chelsea who, barring complete collapse, will go into next season fighting on four fronts including a return to Europe's biggest club competition.

Attracting players with European experience, and lots of it, is surely key to Conte's ambitions going forward, from the first team right through to his back-up options.

Cheap but capable back-up

Thibaut Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe so nobody is really expecting Craig Gordon to come in and compete for his number one position.

With Asmir Begovic's future at Stamford Bridge in question, the ideal man to replace him is Craig Gordon.

There's no sense in spending big money to land a player that will likely sit on the bench for the majority of the season. With Gordon's age and the fact he plays in the Scottish Premiership, he is unlikely to command a big fee or big wages.

Even at 33, Craig Gordon is improving all the time and has never looked a more capable all-round goalkeeper. This season, the goalkeeper has added a more skillful and varied distribution to his game, as demanded by Brendan Rodgers.

Still has something to prove in the Premier League

After his big money move from Hearts to Sunderland in 2007m Gordon was tipped to make a big splash in the English Premier League and initially that was certainly the case.

However injuries ended up blighting his time at the Stadium of Light and the goalkeeper likely still wants to prove he has what it takes to put in excellent performances in England. As fit as he's ever been, now could be that time. He's played 50 more matches at Celtic than Sunderland despite being at the club for two years less.

Despite being back-up, if he can take his chances in the cups and even in Europe behind Courtois then who's to say he can't eventually make a few Premier League appearances too? Having someone with the hunger to make that happen could be a massive positive for Conte and Chelsea.