Gustaf Lagerbielke is edging closer to a move to Celtic after the player himself responded to transfer links.

The Elfsborg defender, who has been capped once for Sweden, is a target for the Scottish champions due to the departure of Carl Starfelt.

And now the 23-year-old has opened up on the interest from the Parkhead side, telling outlet bt.se: "It's an honour. It's an awesome journey and I'm very proud of it."

Lagerbielke previously turned out for Sollentuna FK, Vasteras SK, Degerfors IF and Djursholm under-19.

Now, Elfsborg are hopeful of landing a significant transfer fee for the defender who has 18 months left on his current contract.

Club chief Stefan Andreasson recently confirmed talks with Celtic, saying: "We have had a dialogue in this case. There is an interest, yes.

"But we are not in a negotiation. Then the club must move from interest to acting powerfully and concretely. We are not there right now.

"The trade-off is, as always, in the summer window. We have managed to have healthy conversations with our players.

"The most important thing is the club and the situation we are in. We are always positive that players can go for the right price.

"Many players want to leave Sweden. So we have dialogues when there is a good time for it.

"Sometimes, when we don't think the bid is good enough, we might say no, and then it might take a while, and then something better might come along, and then players might still be happy.

"We know roughly what it would mean for a transfer for some players. We have a dialogue with the players and their representatives. We have that with multiple players now.

"Partly with Gustaf, partly with several others. These are pleasant problems."

READ MORE: Gustaf Lagerbielke: Why Celtic is perfect as a ball-playing defender

Meanwhile, Celtic youngster Ben McPherson is reportedly set to head out on loan. 

The young right-back wants to gain first-team experience.

And the Daily Record states that Queen's Park are closing in on a deal with the Hoops for the 19-year-old.

The defender will join the Scottish championship side on loan as they aim to bolster their squad for another tilt at promotion to the big time.

The report says that the Scotland U21 international had the chance to join Austrian side Admira Wacker on loan, but has opted to stay put in Scotland.

The deal to join the Spiders could be completed in time for their second game of the league season at home to Arbroath on Saturday.

McPherson has just come back from Celtic’s first-team tour of Japan and is keen to kick on.

Join Aidan Macdonald and Ryan McGinlay as they discuss all this and more in the video below.