Leeds United left surprised when Celtic approached them over a loan for Joel Piroe | OneFootball

Leeds United were surprised that Celtic made enquiries to sign striker Joel Piroe on loan last week, according to Sky Sports.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is looking to bolster his attack and the Hoops approached Leeds over a temporary deal to bring Piroe to the Parkhead club.

However, the Elland Road club were not open to a loan deal and their chairman Paraag Marathe is also the vice chair of Rangers, making the approach from Celtic laughable.

The Leeds chief would not be open to sanctioning a loan move that would help boost the chances of the Hoops winning the Scottish Premiership title as Rangers are also challenging for it.

Celtic are second in the table after 22 league games, with six points between them and leaders Hearts, and only a superior goal difference puts them ahead of third-place Rangers.

Loaning Piroe would also do little to help Leeds’ PSR position right now, and the West Yorkshire club are insisting he wants to stay and fight for his future.

Celtic will have to look elsewhere and they remain interested in Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana.

The Hoops have also been linked with Basel attacker Philip Otele, but a move to bring Birmingham City striker Kyogo Furuhashi back to Parkhead has been dismissed by O’Neill.

They are desperate to retain their title after some woeful performances under Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy, but they face stiff competition from Hearts and Rangers.

Celtic will have to add more top players to their squad before the end of the winter transfer window to boost their chances having already signed Mexican full-back Julian Araujo on loan from Bournemouth.