Ross Graham of Dundee United and Stephen Welsh, a defender for Celtic, are allegedly the targets of Neil Lennon’s double raid on Scottish football as his first recruits for Rapid Bucharest.

After placing sixth this season, the former head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks was introduced as the Romanian club’s manager this week. He will have ample opportunity to utilize the transfer market to turn around the team’s fortunes.

Furthermore, the Scottish defensive pair has already been identified as his primary targets in Romanian media.

Graham, a stopper for United, is unsigned and may be had for free. He has been in discussions about inking a new contract at Tannadice with Jim Goodwin, the manager of United.

As his club prepares to go up to the Premiership, Goodwin is in the middle of things.

With Craig Sibbald having already signed a new deal at Tannadice, there will be more title-winning players coming up.

Given the difficulty of the assignment, Daniel Pancu, the manager of Romania’s under-21 team, has already written off Lennon’s prospects of succeeding at Rapid Bucharest.

Pancu said: “It’s an extraordinary coup for Rapid to bring in a coach of the standing of Neil Lennon.

“I am convinced that he is a very good coach, a coach who has also managed in the Champions League, he also has a victory against Barcelona, but under different conditions, with other players.

“I am sure he will aim for the title, but Rapid has no spine to the team now. The only way he could win the league would be if they spent a lot of money.”