Celtic have been told how much it will cost to land a key midfield target in Gvidas Gineitis amid their Champions League exit. The Bhoys may now alter their transfer plans after missing out on tens of millions worth of additional revenue following their shock Champions League qualifying exit.
Martin O'Neill's men gave up a four-goal lead to lose to LASK, and the defeat laid bare the deficiancies that exist within the squad, and in midfield, in particular.
Celtic are very short in the midfield, and they currently only have two holding midfielders on their books following the exit of Arne Engels.
In reality, they should have addressed the issue long before their Champions League qualifiers, knowing that Engels was always likely to be sold, but they have not, and now they are likely to use the loss of Champions League revenue as an excuse to shop on the cheap.
That could take midfield target Gvidas Gineitis out of their reach, and Toro have claimed they may still make a move, but they also claim it will take €10million (or £8.5million) to get the deal done, which could be a problem for the Bhoys.
Celtic have that money, make no bones about it, but there is little confidence this board is willing to spend it, and the Champions League revenue is going to be used as the reason, there is no doubt about it.
It is the reason the Bhoys are yet to sign additional midfielders after Mika Baur, with the gamble failing to pay off, and costing Celtic millions.
Strictly speaking, had Celtic signed Gineitis two weeks ago and gone on to qualify for the Champions League, his signing would effectively be free, given the prize and TV money qualification would have brought.
That also would have been a gamble, of course, but it would have been a much more digestible gamble for supporters.
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