Former Aston Villa, Chelsea and Republic of Ireland midfielder Andy Townsend has suggested that Celtic should look at signing a Newcastle forward who is out of contract this summer.

Townsend told BoyleSports, who offer the latest Football odds, that Celtic should look to bring in Callum Wilson this summer upon expiration of his deal at St. James’ Park this summer.

He said: “Callum Wilson is out of contract in the summer, and I could absolutely see him at Celtic. I think it could be ideal for him.

“He is on a free transfer but could still get a significant wage, the one problem is if he can stay fit enough to have the impact on the team he and the club would want.”

With options already at Celtic Park, including Daizen Maeda, who has been in scintillating form this season, and big-money signing Adam Idah, who could help complement Wilson’s lack of availability, he does seem like a decent choice for the Celts.

But Wilson has only managed 13 appearances this campaign for the Magpies, having struggled with both a back injury and a hamstring injury for spells this year.

This is in addition to only featuring in 26 of Newcastle’s 51 matches last year.

Townsend doesn’t believe this would offput Celtic however due to his contribution when fit.

He said: “At Celtic, he could play 25 games and win the league. He has experience and has been around a long time. When he plays, he looks good, it’s just the injury concerns.

“A move to a club like Celtic would make a lot of sense for him. He could help Adam Idah with his experience, but he would need to be able to play 30 times in all competitions from Celtic’s point of view.

“I think the move would work if that was the case, otherwise, Celtic may look elsewhere.”

Other players being linked to the Scottish champions for the same position are Slovan Bratislava hitman David Strelec, Danish wonderkid Mathias Kvistgaarden and Rodgers’ former player at Leicester Kelechi Iheanacho.

The club also have young Johnny Kenny breaking into the first team setup this season, who they may look to make a permanent fixture in the squad with fellow B team players.

Premier League striker backed for shock summer Celtic move