Celtic boss Neil Lennon is set to rival his old teammate Paul Lambert in the scramble to sign Crewe Alexandra starlet Luke Murphy.

Lennon and Lambert have both made personal scouting trips to watch the 23-year-old midfielder, who scored in Crewe's Johnstone's Paint Trophy victory over Southend last month, in action this season.

Lambert was spotted sat next to Villa midfielder Ashley Westwood when Crewe beat MK Dons in March, leading to speculation that he was plotting another summer raid on the lower leagues.

But Newcastle, QPR and Sunderland are all also said to be interested while Celtic boss Lennon, a former Crewe player, has also taken a great interest in Murphy.

The Hoops boss tweeted his appreciation of Murphy's goal at Wembley as he watched the game on TV at home and was then spotted at the Alexandra Stadium last week - his first opportunity to watch the player in action.

The Crewe captain recently admitted he felt he was ready to play at a higher level and the Cheshire club are hoping to net over £2.5million for his transfer in the summer.

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