Balde remains in Strachan's plans

Bobo Balde has been linked with English clubs previously

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan insists defender Bobo Balde remains firmly in his plans for the future.

Newspaper reports had claimed that former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill is lining up a £1.5m offer to take Balde to Aston Villa in January.

But Strachan says he will not entertain any bids for the 31-year-old.

And he revealed that injuries mean that the Guinea defender has a chance of returning for the Scottish Premier League clash against Motherwell.

Full-backs Lee Naylor and Paul Telfer both face late fitness tests on knocks picked up during Tuesday's Champions League victory over Benfica.

Former Toulouse defender Balde made his comeback from a stomach muscle injury in the CIS Insurance Cup win over St Mirren on 19 September.

But he has yet to feature in the Scottish Premier League this season, with Stephen McManus and summer signing Gary Caldwell having formed a solid partnership.

And Strachan is adamant that he will not change his preferred 4-4-2 formation to accommodate Balde in a back three for the Parkhead fixture.

Balde has been linked with Fulham, Marseille, Birmingham City and Middlesbrough in recent seasons.

O'Neill has already bought Stilyan Petrov from Celtic and signed former Parkhead wing-back Didier Agathe.

Villa have also been linked with a move for Scotland midfielder Shaun Maloney, who has yet to agree an extension to his contract, which ends next summer.