Celtic are marching toward a fifth consecutive league title this season.

Nine points clear of Aberdeen, the Bhoys are set to give Ronny Deila the perfect send off. But, ahead of next season, Celtic need new signings.

Improved performances in Europe and in the domestic cups is a must, and with the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts and the returning Rangers ready to challenge for the Scottish Premiership title, it's time for the Hoops to make a statement.

With that in mind, here are FIVE additions Deila's successor needs this summer...

Billy Mckay & Kane Hemmings

 

The most apparent need at the club is the addition of goalscorers at the top of the pitch. Leigh Griffiths has been in superb form, scoring 29 goals in 31 league games. Look past the former Hibernian front man, however, and things make sore reading for Celtic fans. The 14 appearances Colin Kazim Richards (10) and Carlton Cole (4) have made have yielded no goals in the Scottish Premier League this year, meanwhile the young Patrick Roberts, often employed in an advanced wide role, has chipped in with two goals in his seven league appearances. Roberts will improve, but is on loan from Manchester City until 2017 so it remains to be seen if he is a long term goal-scoring solution.

Celtic then, need at least two strikers to offer genuine competition for Griffiths and to take a share of the goalscoring workload. The two I would target if I were the incoming manager would be Billy Mckay and Kane Hemmings. Mckay has hit 12 goals this year for a Dundee United side that are on a direct route to the Scottish Championship. The question is, if the man from Corby can do that for a side that have struggled all year what could he do with the service Leigh Griffiths gets? One stumbling block could be if parent club Wigan decide to keep for next season. But, an offer from Celtic would surely be too good to turn down.

Another striker Celtic should look at is Kane Hemmings of Dundee FC. Hemmings is second in the Scottish Premiership scoring chart with 21 goals and has a better shots on target rate than any other of the 25 top scorers in the league this season with 74%. Hemmings has also been nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award in Scotland and at the age of 24, still has plenty of years left to improve, he should be a definite target for the Glasgow club this year.

Gaston Ramirez

A goalscoring midfielder should also be on Celtic's list if they are to compete on all fronts. Australian Tom Rogic has done well with seven goals and may hit double figures before the season is done, but a midfielder that can score regularly is worth his weight in gold and Celtic need at least one more.

Gaston Ramirez, currently on loan at Middlesbrough from Southampton, has scored six goals in 16 appearances since January and would provide the Glasgow side with added threat behind their front-men. Again it remains to be seen if Middlesbrough make the deal permanent, but promotion or not, Boro cannot offer European football like Celtic can.

Paddy McNair

The club should also look at adding to some of their young defenders. Players like Kieran Tierny, Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic highlight the bright future Celtic could have and it would make sense to focus on this to allow for continued success in the years to come.

Paddy McNair of Manchester United would be ideal. A versatile defender, McNair has experience both with United and his national team, Northern Ireland, and should be in his country's EURO 2016  squad in the summer. At the age of 21 he still has plenty to learn, but clearly has the attributes to play at the highest level and in Celtic's defence he would come on leaps and bounds.

Michel Vorm

Finally, some strong competition for Craig Gordon would be ideal at the club.

Michel Vorm could be worth a try. Vorm hasn't played much at Tottenham, but against Hugo Lloris not may 'keepers would. At Swansea the Dutchman was a key part of keeping the club defensively stable in their first few Premier League campaigns. Vorm, at 32, still has plenty to offer as a goalkeeper, would relish the challenge of getting some game time and as a Netherlands international, has plenty of experience too.