Juninho in talks with Celtic

Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren yesterday confirmed that Brazilian star Juninho has held talks with Celtic

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has been alerted to Juninho's possible availability after the player found himself pushed to the sidelines by the arrival of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka.

On-loan striker Henri Camara has been the only new face at Celtic since the departures of Henrik Larsson, Johan Mjallby, Liam Miller and Jamie Smith but Juninho would be the high-profile signing that the supporters are hoping for.

"While we're actively not looking to sell Juninho at all, we can't stop interest from other clubs in our players," McClaren said. "Certainly, Celtic have expressed an interest in Juninho, made an inquiry. I think Martin O'Neill has spoken to Juninho, I think there's no secret of that.

"At the present moment, the ball is firmly in Juninho's court."

Celtic play their first competitive game without Larsson tomorrow in their Scottish Premier League opener against Motherwell.

O'Neill could have midfielder Alan Thompson available for the game at Parkhead. Thompson is likely to return after needing stitches for a gashed shin sustained in a friendly against Manchester United in United States.

Henri Camara is also pushing for a place in the side. He faces competition from Chris Sutton, John Hartson and in-form youngster Craig Beattie.

Bobby Petta and David Fernandez are still recovering from muscle and shoulder problems respectively.

Meanwhile, Rangers are set to hand a debut to left back Gregory Vignal, on loan from Liverpool, at Aberdeen today.

Summer signings Dado Prso, Nacho Novo, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Alex Rae and Marvin Andrews are all available but Dragan Mladenovic is sidelined by a hamstring problem.