CELTIC are believed to be favourites in the chase for Clarets striker Kyle Lafferty despite misleading reports suggesting a deal had already been struck with Wolves.

Confusion reigned over Lafferty's future yesterday after reports in Northern Ireland claimed Burnley manager Owen Coyle had accepted an offer from the Molineux outfit on Monday evening.

However, Clarets' assistant boss Sandy Stewart insists no agreement has been made with any club.

He said yesterday: "I spoke to Owen on Monday night and he said there had was nothing doing regarding (Lafferty)."

At the moment, the Clarets are pondering two live' cash-plus-player offers - one from Wolves and another from Celtic - for the Northern Ireland international.

The Championship side are believed to have tabled a £2.5m bid that includes striker Stephen Elliott.

But Coyle is more likely to be tempted by Celtic's offer of £2.5m with out-of-favour forward Derek Riordan part of the package.

The Clarets manager is a known admirer of the former Hibs goal-getter and has monitored his situation since having a bid in the region of £400,000 turned down during last season's January transfer window.

Despite making just eight league starts for the Glasgow giants in the previous two seasons, Riordan proved during his time with Hibs that he is a capable scorer in the SPL, netting 16 goals in 36 appearances during the 2005/06 campaign.

It is that track-record which Coyle believes Riordan can replicate in the Championship, making him a formidable asset in the Burnley forward ranks.

Leeds United are also believed to be fiercely pursuing the 25-year-old's signature, but the Yorkshire club's failure to land promotion from League One last term puts them at a disadvantage.

Sources close to Lafferty suggest that his preferred destination would be Wolves because he wants to play in the Premier League, and he believes the West Midlands club stand a good chance of securing promotion to England's top-flight next term.

The 20-year-old, a Rangers fan as a youngster, is also believed to prefer a move to Ibrox over Parkhead, if he was to head north of the border.

However, weekend speculation that Rangers had tabled a £2.5 bid, with midfielder Alan Gow thrown into the package, have proved to be unfounded.

But Lafferty would certainly not turn down a move to Celtic, with the opportunity to play Champions League football.