Celtic have had an intial £200k bid for Motherwell goalkeeper Trevor Carson turned down by the Fir Park club. 

Weekend scans revealed that Craig Gordon is facing at least a 12-week lay-off after a clash with Hibernian defender Efe Ambrose, prompting Celtic to look for a replacement prior to the closure of tomorrow night’s transfer window.

It is believed that an initial bid for Carson was knocked back by Motherwell for the Northern Ireland player on Monday evening, but Celtic are expected to return with a further bid in order to get the stopper in a back up to Dorus de Vries. Motherwell, though, are expected to stand firm given that the clock is ticking on sourcing a potential replacement for the keeper.

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But with one of Carson's main motivations for making the switch to Motherwell this summer being his quest to get into Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland squad, Celtic would surely be regarded as a significant step towards the realisation of that ambition.

With Conor Hazard on loan at Falkirk, a deal that went through only last Friday, Celtic need cover for the remainder of the season.

Rodgers worked with his fellow Northern Irishman when he was starting his career between the sticks and praised the 29-year-old for his performances when the sides met three times in a week last November and December.

"You have to give massive credit to their goalkeeper," said Rodgers after the teams met in November. "I knew Trevor as a young guy and he was outstanding. Then I lost track of him."

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Carson who only joined Motherwell in the summer from Hartlepool started his career at Sunderland in 2006 and he had loan spells at Chesterfield, Lincoln City, Brentford, Bury and Hull City before joining Bury on a permanent basis in 2012.

After a temporary period at Portsmouth Carson moved onto Cheltenham before heading to Hartlepool in 2015.

The shot-stopper recently stated that he hoped playing in Scotland would help him win his first cap for Northern Ireland and a move to Celtic Park could increase his chances further. Celtic are expected to return to the Fir Park club with another offer.