One agent has lifted the lid on Celtic's reported bid to sign bring back former loan star Marcelo Saracchi this summer.
Saracchi played an important role for the Bhoys last summer, backing up Kieran Tierney at the left-back position during his loan spell from Boca Juniors, and Martin O'Neill said earlier this summer that he wanted to re-sign Saracchi.
But that has not come to pass, and according to the player's agent, Celtic hardly even tried to sign Saracchi, which is another indictment on their poor summer business.
Celtic did not make serious effort to sign Saracchi permanently
Speaking to CeltsAreHere, Saracchi's agent Marcelo Tejera said: "Celtic FC never made an offer for Saracchi. I do not know what is happening at the club, but the strange thing is that they never made an offer.”
He added: "I only spoke to them once, a month ago. They never made any offer for Saracchi.
“It was a very low amount that was being requested.
“The club did not want to make any effort for him. We have now ended our negotiations with Celtic FC. We are looking for other clubs.”
Boca are only said to have asked for £1.5million for Saracchi this summer, which only adds confusion to Celtic's failure to sign Saracchi. It was another chance to land an important squad player, especially with Tierney's injury issues.
The player was also understood to want to make the move this summer, which is more than can be said about the vast majority of Celtic targets this summer. But again the Bhoys confuse by putting up a weak effort to pull off the signing.
It's yet another missed opportunity, along with Kelechi Iheanacho, who the club messed around by submitting a delayed and weak contract offer, again leaving themselves short when the striker decided to instead go elsewhere.
Celtic appear to think they have some sort of leverage over players, but when players have proven they can help a club, the club must then show them adequate respect when making offers. Failure to do that with established players is going to lead you down the path of rejection.
With two weeks to the new season and just one signing made, Celtic are going to have to start swallowing their pride by offering more than want to offer. Failure to do so is going to leave O'Neill with one of the worst-prepared squads in recent memory.
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