Celtic manager Neil Lennon today confirmed the club had approached City with a view to taking Bellamy back to Parkhead.

Bellamy's exclusion has fuelled expectations that he will not be named in the club's 25-man squad for their Barclays Premier League campaign.

The player, who spent several months on loan with Celtic in 2005, is eager to leave should that be the case and Lennon hopes City will be keen to do business with him rather than their top-flight rivals in England.

Lennon said: “When you see someone of the calibre of Craig and the fact that he’s not in the 25 and he’s looking to go out and play football, then we feel it’s something that we can’t try and miss out on.

“We’ve been speaking to his representatives and we’ve been speaking to Man City.

“How far down the line we are will be down to Craig obviously. But the advantage we have is that, one, it’s not in the Premier League and, two, he has been here before and he enjoyed his time here and made a huge impact on the game up here and has a real connection with the supporters.”

Bellamy's potential arrival would compensate for the imminent departure of Aiden McGeady, who is set to join Spartak Moscow.

Lennon said of the reported £9.5m deal: “We’re hoping it’s going to get over the line today or tomorrow.

“He was having a medical with Moscow. I’m sure that will be fine – hopefully it will be done this week.”

Lennon, who confirmed Gary Hooper would miss the Clydesdale Bank Premier League opener at Inverness, added: “We’re working very hard behind the scenes to bring in players in the positions we want.”