NEIL Lennon has admitted he would like to bring Victor Wanyama back to Celtic this month – but stressed the Spurs midfielder’s wages and the imminent arrival of Ismaila Soro mean it is unlikely to happen.

Wanyama, who has only started one game for his Premier League club this season, has been repeatedly linked with a loan to the Scottish champions in recent months.

Lennon, who signed the powerful Kenyan during his first spell in charge at Parkhead, is keen to add experience to his squad during the January transfer window.

However, he feels the treble treble winners, who are bidding to win a record-equalling ninth consecutive Scottish title in the 2019/20 campaign, will be priced out of a move for the 28-year-old.

The Northern Irishman also believes he will be well covered in midfield when Soro, the 21-year-old Ivorian who is poised to join from Israeli club Bnei Yehuda for £2 million, finally signs.

Asked if Wanyama was a target, Lennon said: "He's in my thoughts. But could we afford him? I doubt it very much.

“The problem with Victor is where do you fit him in with bringing Soro in, if we have Brown, Bitton, McGregor, Ntcham. I don't think that's going to be an option. I wouldn't have thought so.”

He added: "Ideally, you would have a little more experience coming in. We have a couple of plates spinning in terms of players who are not playing on a regular basis who need to get out and play, so that might leave a little bit more room for manoeuvre to bring one or two more in.

"It (experience) could help. In the last game we looked like we lacked a little bit of nous and experience, a little bit of physicality, so they are areas we're looking at to bring in.

"What we are looking for is to add one or two, like an Elyounoussi type, who are ready to come in and play straight away with a bit more experience and more physicality.

“But we’ve got good experience. We were in this position this time last year as well, which will stand them in good stead going forward.”

Meanwhile, Lennon has confirmed than Vakoun Issouf Bayo, the Ivorian striker who signed from Dunajska Streda in Slovakia last January, is on the verge of returning to action after a lengthy period on the sidelines.

He insisted that all four of the strikers he has in his squad – Bayo, Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths and new signing Patryk Klimala – will be required in the second half of the season with a hectic schedule of matches.

"He had the long-term injury, so he's just back training,” he said. “How far is he away from playing? Maybe another week or so.

"We needed another option and Bayo had a long-term hamstring injury and then a medial ligament injury, so we felt bringing another striker (Patryk Klimala) it was important.

“Klimala we like, he's got pace and power and at 21 he's got a bit of work, but he's got real raw talent and all the reports and all the due diligence was done on him, so it was important we got that one over the line. We have competition there now.

"We may have to change the way we play sometimes. We did it for Lazio. In the main we have been 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, whatever you want to call it, but having a number of strikers might give us the opportunity to play two up.

"You can't have enough good strikers, honestly, and with the amount of games we've got coming up there will be injuries, suspensions coming along, so we'll need them all.”