Belgium international and Atalanta defender Timothy Castagne has confirmed that Celtic missed out on his capture over £4million back in the January transfer window.
The Hoops were looking to strengthen their options at the back and ended up taking Jeremy Toljan on loan from German giants Borussia Dortmund.
However four-cap ace Castagne has revealed that he looked destined for a move to Parkhead, with an £8million bid tabled by the Bhoys, but that the Italian outfit stuck to their £12million asking price, resulting in the move collapsing and the 23-year-old remaining in Serie A.
He told the Daily Record: “It’s incredible how quickly things in football can change. In December I wasn’t starting any games and there was a £8million move to Celtic on the table. It looked like I was leaving, but the club wanted £12m and the deal collapsed.
“Since then, having not played for 13 games, I played just about every other game and we qualified for the Champion League.”
Opinion
How the Hoops will be ruing their decision. Toljan was hardly a hit during his time at the club and all Neil Lennon, as well as the rest of the backroom staff at Celtic, will be thinking is how lucky they were it was only a loan deal. However, they could have had Castagne on board if they had plumped up the cash and the 23-year-old looks a real talent, having helped Atalanta to qualify for the Champions League. Playing for Belgium is no easy feat considering the amount of quality they have at their disposal and quite frankly he looks to have exceeded that £12million asking price. The Hoops could have been left sitting on a goldmine – instead they are once again going to be scouring the market for a quality player who is in their budget. That is a task easier said than done and it looks as though Celtic missed a trick not getting Castagne over the line when he was out of favour. One to learn from for the Hoops.