Bent, Pavluchenko and Zhirkov out of Strachan's reach but Villa's Maloney makes sense for Celtic's limited budget

The harsh financial landscape in which the Parkhead club find themselves operating this summer was illustrated on two fronts yesterday.

Sportsmail recently revealed bold plans to pursue blue-chip names of the calibre of Russian international Roman Pavluchenko and Spurs striker Darren Bent.

Fitting the bill: Maloney could be offered chance to return north

Last night, however, former Bhoy Maloney - rather than the aforementioned duo - was emerging as a more viable signing target. Bent is close to joining Sunderland in a £10million transfer, while Spartak Moscow's Pavluchenko has emerged on Chelsea's radar at the insistence of billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

More affordable at this stage is Maloney, a player Gordon Strachan believes he has 'unfinished business' with despite his controversial flight south after a pay row last year.

The homesick Aston Villa attacker's much-discussed return to Glasgow is finally expected to happen if Villa agree to take former Wolves left-back Lee Naylor and £1m in return.

Sources insist that Strachan's interest in Maloney remains strong.

The major sticking point to a deal would appear to be a reluctance on the part of Martin O'Neill to commit himself to signing Naylor as cover.

Naylor is determined to return south to be closer to his young daughter following a season of poor performances. And, with just a year remaining on his current contract, the 27-year-old has been offered to a raft of Premiership clubs.

Seeking cover for Dutch international Wilfred Bouma, few would be surprised to see the Northern Irishman dither over his decision for a time yet. Strachan has already suffered a modest setback to his plans this summer with the decision of Kyle Lafferty to join Rangers.

After drawing up a high-profile list of alternatives, however, the former Scotland international faces further frustration.

Roy Keane, the Sunderland boss, was close to securing Bent's signature in a £10m deal last night.

With the 24-year-old seeking wages in the region of £50,000 a week, Celtic's interest in a year-long loan deal now looks unlikely to be pursued. 

Priced out the market: Russia's Yuri Zhirkov is too expensive for Celtic after an impressive Euro 2008

Finance is also likely to place Pavluchenko outwith any Scottish club's reach.

Since scoring three times in Euro 2008, the Spartak Moscow predator has also been linked with nine of Europe's top clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Spurs.

Yesterday, the Russian paper Tvoi Den also reported that new Chelsea coach Big Phil Scolari is under pressure from owner Abramovich to sign the likes of Pavluchenko, full-back Yuri Zhirkov or golden boy Andrei Arshavin this summer.

Sportsmail understands that Zhirkov also featured highly on a Celtic shortlist at the beginning of the finals.

The events in Austria and Switzerland, where the attacking left-back was outstanding, now place the CSKA star in different financial ballpark.

Instead, it may be to the likes of Roma' s young full- back Vitorino Antunes or Hamburg's Timothee Atouba that the title winners turn. Naylor's desire to return south has focused minds on finding a buyer - and a replacement.