Former Scottish international and Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish and Jim Kerr, the lead singer of rock group Simple Minds, are heading the group which is preparing to attempt to buy out club Chairman Fergus McCann.

Irish sources are reported to have confirmed that Bono, a close friend of Kerr, is in the consortium.

He has been linked several times in the past with attempts to take over the club.

The consortium, which is backed by the Bankers' Trust, is hoping to win control of Celtic with a £100m takeover.

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McCann, who plans to leave the club by the end of this season after a highly controversial and increasingly unpopular five-year reign, must decide whether to accept their bid amid growing pressure from many Celtic fans.

However, he has already indicated that he would prefer to sell his 51% shareholding to existing shareholders and does not want a powerful consortium to dominate the club.

Many supporters are attracted by the glamorous figures fronting the consortium, which is also planning to invest a considerable sum of money, believed to be more than £10m.

Nobody was available to comment at Celtic, while a spokesman for the consortium was unable to say whether Bono was involved or not due to legal reasons at this stage of the bid process.