According to German media outlet Kicker, Bundesliga side Hannover are interested in signing Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek before their transfer window closes, and Celtic must hijack any potential deal.

What's the word, then?

Well, Kicker report that the German club are looking to sign another centre-half before the deadline on August 31 having lost Salif Sane and Florian Hubner this summer and only signed Kevin Wimmer from Stoke City, with Bednarek one of four players on their shortlist.

Alongside the Poland international, who scored for his country at the 2018 World Cup, Kicker say that Hannover are also interested in West Ham United's Reece Oxford, Sunderland's Papy Djilobdji and free agent Serdar Tasci.

Meanwhile, Celtic have been struggling at the back in recent weeks with Dedryck Boyata reportedly wanting out and Jack Hendry and Kris Ajer coming under fire from supporters for their displays in recent weeks, and Brendan Rodgers may well need to bring a new body in whether Boyata goes or not.

Why should Rodgers target Bednarek?

The 22-year-old joined Southampton last summer but he struggled to make an impact in the first team until Mark Hughes took charge in March, and he quickly became a key player in the back three as the south coast outfit narrowly avoided the drop to the Championship.

However, the arrival of Jannik Vestergaard looks to have pushed the Pole down the pecking order given he only made the substitutes' bench in the Premier League opener against Burnley at St Mary's on Sunday, and Maya Yoshida could also jump ahead of him, too.

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Bednarek has shown his defensive abilities and the composure that he has for both his club and country despite his relatively tender years, and he certainly has the ability to be a star for Celtic, whose fans are fuming with a 45-year-old senior club figure, and be an upgrade on the likes of Ajer and Jozo Simunovic.