Celtic defender Darren O'Dea reckons Shane Long would be a smash at Parkhead. The Hoops' chances of luring Long north of the border were boosted by Reading's failure to win promotion to the Premier League after defeat to Swansea on Monday. And though boss Neil Lennon may need to stump up as much as £6million for the Irishman's services, O'Dea thinks it would be money well spent if Celtic went for his international team-mate .
O'Dea said: "I don't need to tell you about Shane's calibre. You have to just watch games to see. He came away with Ireland when he was 16 and to say he has come on from that is an understatement. Shane had raw talent back then but he is developing every day and getting better and better. He'd be more than capable of doing a job for Celtic. He's one of the top scorers in the Championship, is scoring at international level and any club would be lucky to have him."
Reading owner Sir John Madejski is 'not very confident' of keeping hold of striker Long - but he wants £20million for him. Celtic manager Neil Lennon has been watching the Republic of Ireland international recently and is tipped to make a bid. Royals chairman Madejski has yet to receive an approach from anybody, but worries the club could struggle to hang on to the striker.
Madejski said: "I'm aware of Celtic's interest in Shane Long. Neil Lennon has been watching him for three games now. He's been at our past two games and there again at Wembley. We are still to hear anything official from Celtic but it's obvious they are interested. How confident am I we can ward off Celtic's interest? Not very. It's sad that we didn't get promoted because Shane would have liked to stay at Reading if we had reached the Premier League, but that has changed because we will be in the Championship. Shane is world class. What is the value I would place on him? £20m. Now we will just have to see what happens with him. As well as being a great player, he's a lovely lad. If Celtic are to land him, they will be privileged indeed because he's just a super player and a super individual. He has all the right credentials to go to the very top of the game. He's hard working and extremely cool in front of goal. I don't know if he will end up at Celtic, but what is certain is that he will not be at Reading next season."