U2 singer Bono has been revealed as the third high-profile member of the consortium aiming to take over Celtic football club.

Former Scottish international and Celtic great Kenny Dalglish and Jim Kerr, of rock group Simple Minds, are heading the group which is preparing to attempt to buy out club chairman Fergus McCann. Now Bono has been confirmed as a member of that consortium by sources close to the star here. The singer is a close friend of Kerr and it is likely that he will invest some of the vast fortune he has accumulated during his rock career into the club if the bid succeeds.

The consortium, which is backed by City financiers, is hoping to take control of Celtic with a takeover that could cost them more than £100 million.

McCann, who plans to leave the club by the end of this season after a highly controversial and increasingly unpopular five-year reign, must decide whether to accept their bid amid growing pressure from many Celtic fans.

However, he has already indicated that he would prefer to sell his 51 per cent shareholding to existing shareholders and does not want a powerful consortium to dominate the club. Irish businessman Dermot Desmond is a significant shareholder.

The consortium, though, is planning to invest a considerable sum of money, believed to be more than £10 million, into new signings at the club, which has so far failed to build on last season's title success. Nobody was available to comment at Celtic, while a spokesman for the consortium said he was unable to say whether Bono was involved or not due to legal reasons at this stage of the bid process.