Celtic were in advanced talks to sign Anderlecht midfielder Adrien Trebel but would not pay the £9million price-tag.
Brendan Rodgers made no secret of his frustration about Celtic’s lack of transfer window activity.
The Hoops paid a club-record £9 million to sign Odsonne Edouard from PSG on a permanent basis, but the free-agent additions of Emilio Izaguirre, Youssouf Mulumbu and Scott Bain hardly smacked of ambition.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun in October, Rodgers admitted that Celtic were guilty of standing still during the summer, with the likes of John McGinn and Italian right-back Cristiano Piccini slipping through their grasp.
Now, speaking to HLN, Anderlecht midfielder Adrien Trebel has admitted that he also missed out on a move to Glasgow because Celtic refused to meet his £9 million price-tag.
“I was in advanced talks with but nobody wanted to pay the asking price,” said the combative 27-year-old midfielder, who also described Celtic as a ‘beautiful club’.
“I made peace with that.”
Reacting on Twitter, it seems that a number of Celtic fans are not surprised to learn this information. Rodgers is not the only one frustrated by the club’s apparent refusal to pay the big money to bring talented players to Parkhead.
If Celtic really want to maintain their dominance of Scottish football and push on in Europe, signing the likes of Trebel would be a step in the right direction.
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