Celtic target Timothy Castagne has voiced his preference to move to either England or Germany as he looks set to leave Atalanta next month.

The 23-year-old right-back is wanted by Celtic in a £6m move, although it is believed that the Parkhead club were told by the Serie A side that they did not wish to sell the player.

Castagne is under contract at Atalanta until the summer of 2020 but he has made just nine appearances so far this season. Capped three times for Belgium, Celtic had identified Castagne as a potential replacement for Mikael Lustig who is wanted on a pre-contract by AIK Stockholm in his homeland.

"I can see Germany and England, two competitions where it goes forward, and there is less tactic than in Italy, which are two competitions that attract me," the full-back told Eleven Sports.

"If I could ask a Red Devil [fellow internationalist] to recommend me to the board, I think the Thorgan Hazard club (Borussia Mönchengladbach,.) is a nice club, and it is not too far from Belgium either."

Celtic are still also pursuing a loan move for Timothy Weah with the PSG player confirming that he will move on from his parent club when the window opens in January.

Brendan Rodgers has been clear about his wish to add up to two forwards to the squad given that Leigh Griffiths is out for the foreseeable future and Moussa Dembele left the club on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan believes that the Parkhead side are two years ahead of Rangers as the second derby of the season looms at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon.

“Celtic are the more grounded squad, they’ve known each other for a long time, as the group’s been together since Brendan Rodgers went there,” Strachan told Paddy Power News.

“That’s why I say they’re two years ahead of Rangers, in terms of match preparation, team shape, and consistency in the group. They’ve also got a right good experience of the Old Firm games now. There are some in the Rangers team who haven’t played that many. That matters. You need to know how to handle it, how to go about the game. There is a point where people can get over-psyched and too worked up over the game, and that can be a big problem.

“Steven Gerrard’s been trying to gee his squad up after the Hibs draw. But there’s a risk you can go over the top with the psyching up. He needs to find a balance, whether that’s what he says to the media, in the dressing room, or in team meetings.

“Of course, he’s right, you have to use the crowd’s energy. But you don’t play to them. You use their enthusiasm to make you jump higher, run faster, run further. It can boost you. But when the crowd are losing their focus, you don’t follow them.”

And Strachan has backed Alfredo Morelos to score on Saturday – but still expects Celtic to come out on top.

“I think Celtic have fallen short compared to their standards of the last two seasons, so for them to be top of the league, it shows they’ve got something about them which means they can keep winning games, and they have individuals who can rescue them when they’re in trouble,” he said.

“Alfredo Morelos will score a goal to keep Rangers going, but I don’t think they have those same individuals as Celtic up their sleeve.”