Bolton Wanderers manager Neil Lennon failed to sign Celtic striker Anthony Stokes before the transfer deadline, reports the Scottish Sun. 

The out-of-favour forward has only made two appearances for the Scottish Premiership champions this season, and is seemingly out of manager Ronny Deila's long-term plans.

However, former Celtic boss Lennon, who brought Stokes into Parkhead from Hibernian in 2010, has failed in his attempts to sign the experienced striker for a second time.

He told the Scottish Sun: 'We made an enquiry for Anthony but the club weren’t prepared to let him out.'

Finances are very limited at the Macron Stadium, meaning that Lennon has had to resort to loan signings and free transfers so far this summer.

The Greater Manchester side have found goals hard to come by so far this season, scoring just once in their opening five league games. Lennon is obviously keen on bolstering his attacking options, and his enquiry for Stokes illustrates his desire to land an experienced goalscorer. However, his advances have so far failed.

The 27-year-old has two years remaining on his contract at Celtic Park, and has made close to 200 appearances for the Scottish side since his move in 2012.

He has scored 76 goals in that time -  a decent goal-scoring record in the Scottish Premiership is something that Lennon is keen on, having spent a large majority of his career in Scottish football.

The striker may now have to stay at the Scottish club until at least January, despite the fact that he is finding first-team football hard to come by. Whether or not Lennon will make further advances in January remains to be seen.

Bolton fans... what do you make of the news? Would Stokes have been a good signing? Would he have scored the goals needed for Bolton to improve? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!