JELLE VOSSEN will hold talks with Genk officials ahead of the start of pre-season training this week, having opened the door to a possible move to Celtic ahead of Middlesbrough.

Boro had a £2.4m agreement in place to sign Vossen permanently following the end of his loan spell last season, but allowed the clause the lapse at the end of last month.

They could still be interested in re-signing the striker later in the summer, but would prefer to pursue alternative attacking targets first before reassessing the state of their transfer budget.

Vossen is reluctant to leave things that late as he is keen to leave Genk, with an increasingly long list of clubs having indicated an interest.

Belgian side Club Brugge are set to make a formal move soon, but ideally Vossen would like to return to Britain, with Celtic having emerged as a viable destination in recent days.

The Scottish champions have identified the 26-year-old as a leading target, and Vossen has hinted he would be willing to move to Parkhead.

“Celtic is a club I admire – it is a big and great club,” said the forward. “When I was younger, I watched a lot of their games in the Champions League.

“Celtic have had great teams, and some Belgian players have been over there already. We just have to wait and see what happens and what the future will bring. I will talk to Genk in the coming days.”

Those talks are expected to take place within the next seven days, with Vossen keen to sort out his future before Genk begin their pre-season training.