There are a number of positions where Celtic will be looking to improve this summer. One of them has to be their options on the flanks.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha has not even met minimum expectations since joining the club. On the other hand, Sebastian Tounekti looked like one of the weak links in the team towards the end of last season, even though he held on to his starting spot.

Jota is elite on his day. But he has spent more than a year out injured. It is unclear when he will be back in action or how he will look at that point.

So, it is very easy to see why Celtic will be looking to sign a winger. And Martin O'Neill has confirmed their interest in one, although it is not the player most would have expected after the last few weeks.

For a long time, it had looked like Celtic were focusing on a move for Haissem Hassan, following his excellent World Cup campaign with Egypt and particularly a breakout performance against Lionel Messi's Argentina.

But it has looked like Real Oviedo are keen to see their €12 million release clause be triggered, and it might have led to a change of plans from Celtic.

Martin O'Neill has confirmed Celtic's interest in signing Fares Ghedjemis. According to The Celtic Way, the manager said: "We have a very, very strong interest in him.

"I don't know how close we can get, but we are genuinely making really good progress."

At the end of the day, it would be a risk to pay around £10 million to sign Hassan. Yes, he had a solid World Cup and his underlying numbers in La Liga are very good as well.

But Hassan is a winger who did not score a single goal last season though. And if you want to be a starter for Celtic, that is non-negotiable. You need to be producing the numbers.

That is something that Ghedjemis has been excellent at. For Frosinone last season, he scored 15 goals and provided three assists in 37 games in Italian Serie B.

Some of the underlying numbers are staggering. In Serie B, Ghedjemis was the top of the league for wingers in terms of goals, expected goals, xG on target, shots, shots on target, touches in the opposition box and successful dribbles.

The creative side of his game is better than those three assists suggest as well. In fact, he had 5.78 expected assists, which put him in the 97th percentile. 

Ghedjemis was also in the 97th percentile for chances created and big chances created, and the 96th percentile for successful passes and touches.

READ MORE: 'Not Accurate' - Celtic Transfer Twist

When you look at the numbers, Ghedjemis is a winger with elite production. Of course, there will be question marks over whether that can translate from Serie B to the Scottish Premiership. But if it can, the Hoops would be signing genuine quality.

Also, it is believed that the Rangers are particularly keen on signing Ghedjemis. It was just earlier today that it was reported that he was one of their top targets. So, Celtic fans would relish the opportunity to derail those plans as well.