Celtic ‘Will Dive In’ To Big Money Transfer Deal If They Qualify For Champions League | OneFootball

Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Celtic intend to ‘dive in’ for the signature Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis if they qualify for the Champions League league phase.

Martin O’Neill’s side have made a number of eye-catching additions already so far this summer, with striker Kasper Hogh the pick of the bunch.

While midfielder Arne Engels was recently sold to West Ham United, Celtic acted to make sure he was replaced by Mika Baur, who landed from German side Paderborn.

Midfield though remains an area in which Celtic would like to recruit, with Gineitis a player they have been keen on for some time.

Celtic had a bid of €7.5m for the Lithuania international rejected earlier this summer, but with Torino now looking for €10m, there may be a deal to be done.

It has been suggested that Celtic are applying pressure to get a deal for the midfielder done, but it seems they want to unlock new funds before fully pushing.

According to Italian journalist Giacomo Morandin, Celtic ‘will dive in if they qualify’ for the league phase of the Champions League.

Celtic are in action against Austrian side LASK Linz in the first leg of their Champions League playoff round on Wednesday evening.

For Torino, who are keen to raise cash, the situation is not ideal, while it does also leave Celtic at some risk of another side coming in for Gineitis.

The second leg of the Champions League tie is scheduled for next week, in Austria, and Celtic will want to have built up a healthy lead to take into it.

The Bhoys do have other irons in the fire and are one of a number of clubs interested in Viktoria Plzen midfielder Cheick Souare.

It is suggested that Plzen are looking to bring in between €3.5m to €4m from selling him.