CELTIC are planning to kickstart Nobby Solano's career by making a £3m move for the Newcastle United winger.

After five seasons on Tyneside, Solano's Newcastle prospects look bleak following the arrival of Lee Bowyer.

And the Peruvian has further antagonised Sir Bobby Robson by revealing that he wants to play for his country again.

But Martin O'Neill has made Solano his major summer transfer target as he plans for next season following Celtic's UEFA Cup and SPL near-misses.

Robson is blessed with a surfeit of midfielders and is still interested in Feyenoord's Brett Emerton as well as Dinamo Kiev star Andriy Husin.

It means Solano could be the odd man out come August, and Newcastle are understood to be prepared to listen to offers for the 28-year-old.

Celtic manager O'Neill will have to work within a tight transfer budget this summer, however, as chairman Brian Quinn confirmed yesterday.

Quinn said: "We believe it is right to continue to seek the correct balance between football success and financial prudence.

"The wreckage among football clubs across Europe shows how easy it is to get into serious financial difficulties while sustaining real challenges on the football field. To suggest wholesale changes are needed could be seen as something of a slight to the players who have brought us so much success this year."

While Celtic are interested in Solano, Newcastle are about to launch a second bid for Ipswich Town striker Darren Bent.

After missing out on 19-year-old Bent in January's transfer window, the Magpies are lining up a £1.5m offer for the England Under-21 star.

Bent scored 18 goals for Ipswich last season as the club finished four points outside a First Division play-off place.

He would be the third player to move to Newcastle from Portman Road in a year, following Titus Bramble and Darren Ambrose's moves. Former Ipswich boss George Burley would try to sign Ambrose on a year-long loan deal if he took charge at Derby County on a permanent basis.

The pair worked together in Suffolk until Burley was sacked by Ipswich last October.

Burley, who was Derby's caretaker-manager for the final five weeks of the season, is also interested in Newcastle defender Steve Caldwell.

The Magpies' chief scout Charlie Woods is expected to watch Norway Under-21 striker Morten Gamst Pedersen in action for Tromso tonight. The £4m rated 21-year-old, who had a trial spell with Middlesbrough in 2001, has scored five goals in six games so far this season.