Martin O’Neill has confirmed Celtic had serious interest in Gvidas Gineitis during the summer, with the Torino midfielder one of the players the club looked closely at before the deal fell away.
O’Neill has now made clear just how much Celtic liked the 22-year-old.
He said: (TCW), “We had more than an interest in him at the time.
“But it’s all very well having an interest and people feeling that they might want to come, you still have to negotiate with the club. That was a major thing at the end of the day.
“When clubs become adamant about a certain price for a player – and we are not in the market for overpriced players like in England – you have to deal with it as best as you can.”
Celtic did not return with an offer that met that asking price and the move collapsed, despite O’Neill being keen on the Lithuania international.
“If you feel there is a price for a player, sure you can negotiate, but if there is not really any phenomenal negotiations, then you need to do other things.”
O’Neill also revealed Celtic missed out on another young player he rated highly.
“We had an interest in another young lad who I think will be a brilliant player. I loved him and I thought we could do it, but the club sent him elsewhere.”
The Celtic manager has not completely ruled out revisiting previous targets either.
“I’m sure you could revisit it. Lads like him can be terrific or drop out of the team – who knows. But I am genuinely happy with what we have.”
Celtic liked the player, he was open to the move, but the gap between the clubs was ultimately enough to stop it getting over the line.
Whether Celtic return for Gineitis in a future window may now depend on how his season develops and whether Torino’s valuation drops.
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