RONNY DEILA has confirmed Standard Liege's interest in a move for Celtic winger Mikey Johnston.

The Celtic starlet has been linked with a loan switch to the Belgian side - and Deila has now responded to the rumours.

Confirming an interest in a deal to take the winger to Standard Liege - Deila suggested he's keen but is not sure if a move will be agreed.

Quizzed on a move for Johnston and free agent Stefan Stranberg, Deila said:  "I know both of them, but we don't know how it's going to go.

"A lot of players interest us and if we could recruit all those we wanted, it would be easy.

"We continue to scrutinise the market and we don't want it to go wrong at the moment, when we are trying to sign a player for the club."

Ange Postecoglou previously admitted Johnston is free to find a loan move to give him a fresh start after a difficult few years with injury problems.

He explained: "We're working with Mikey on that.

"There's definitely a talented footballer there, but sometimes you just need a different environment to help that happen."