Celtic retained their nine-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock at the weekend.

A counter from Portuguese winger Jota and an own goal from Killie defender Ash Taylor were enough for the Hoops to see off Derek McInnes's men.

The two sides will meet at Hampden Park this Saturday on League Cup semi-final duty for the right to contest the first silverware showpiece of the season against Rangers or Aberdeen later this month. Celtic are the current holders after defeating Hibernian in the final last December.

Meanwhile, January is shaping up to be a busy month for Postecoglou in terms of ins and outs. Celtic have already bolstered their squad with Alistair Johnston, Yuki Kobayashi, and Tomoki Iwata.

However, the race is hotting up in terms of deals for right-back Josip Juranovic and striker Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Juranovic is reputed to be closer to sealing a switch to Italy to join Serie A up-and-comers AC Monza.

Celtic Way:

The 27-year-old has been surrounded by speculation for the last few months, with his World Cup performances shining a light on the Hoops defender. The Croatian had been linked with global giants Barcelona and Chelsea with Roma, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid also mooted as potential career stops.

He is now being heavily linked with a deal to Silvio Berlusconi-backed side Monza on an initial loan move, before joining permanently in the summer for a fee in the region of £7million. The player joined the Hoops from Legia Warsaw for £2.5m in the summer of 2021.

Meanwhile Greek attacker Giakoumakis could also be set for the Parkhead exit door. The forward is being chased by a host of clubs but J1 League outfit Urawa Red Diamonds appear to be the surprising frontrunner to clinch his signature.

Red Diamonds, who are owned by Mitsubishi could be forced to shell out between £5m to £6m for Giakoumakis''s services. Urawa's transfer record arrival is the £4.4m spent on striker Fabricio from Portimonense in season 2018-19.

The J1 League's record transfer currently stands at the approximately £9.7m Nagoya Grampus paid for Brazilian forward Jo in 2017-18.

Join Sean Martin, Aidan Macdonald and Tony Haggerty in the video below as they discuss all the latest Celtic news.