Celtic's chances of landing Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis appear to have been dealt a near-fatal blow.
The Bhoys are on the lookout for midfielders this summer as they brace to lose Arne Engels. The Belgian was the subject of a £25million bid back in January, and after sticking around to win a league and cup double, he will now be rewarded with a big move should the right offer come in.
Celtic have not been proactive in finding a replacement, or perhaps more likely, replacements, focusing their efforts on signing attackers so far. Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran have been signed, and Haissem Hassan is about to be signed, and could even be made official by the time you are reading this.
As far as the midfield recruitment is concerned, it's clear Mika Baur and Gineitis are the priorities, but Celtic have not been able to strike a deal for the first of those, and they are yet to fully advance their interest for the second.
Celtic handed fresh Gineitis blow
It was reported in recent days that former Rangers boss Danny Rohl, who is now with RB Salzburg, is interested in a move for Gineitis, and it appears as though the Austrian side are willing to pay big money to strike a deal.
The Daily Record claim Salzburg could be willing to pay up to £20million to Torino to land Gineitis, and that's despite an earlier asking price of around £12million.
Celtic and others are said to be interested in the midfielder, but Salzburg could now blow the other clubs out of the water with a £20million bid.
The Bhoys certainly won't be offering that kind of money, given they want to sign two midfielders and Engels will only go for £25million.
Celtic like to buy players and develop them into more pricey assets, so a like-for-like replacament for Engels is not likely to be considered.
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