Bhoys will press ahead with quest to sign Ciftci

Celtic assistant manager John Collins confirmed the club had made an approach for the Turkish forward amid reports United rejected a £900,000 offer.

The player's agent, Collins' former Celtic team-mate Pierre van Hooijdonk, has also revealed interest in the 23-year-old from Middlesbrough.

Collins said: "He has obviously played against us many times last year, he's a big striker, he's strong, he's powerful and he's got technique as well. We like him."

Celtic are looking for a forward following the departure of John Guidetti, who spent last season on loan from Manchester City.

Ciftci has scored 33 goals in two seasons at Tannadice but is no stranger to the Scottish FA disciplinary process. The former Portsmouth player escaped a ban for an alleged kick on Celtic skipper Scott Brown last season but he faces a lengthy punishment when he returns to Hampden on July 20 over an alleged bite on Dundee midfielder Jim McAlister.

Collins added later at a media conference: "I don't want to talk about other players at other clubs, that would be disrespectful. But everyone knows we are looking for new players and we are looking at a lot of players.

"We are looking to strengthen every part of the team, but at the top of the pitch we would like to add another player in there. We have already got good strikers at the club but we have a lot of games and tournaments to play in."

The United board came under fire for selling Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong to Celtic weeks before playing them in both cups last season.