‘Wants to stay’: Manager suggests reported Celtic target would snub Hoops move

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Scottish Premiership champions Celtic reportedly want to sign Billy Sharp from Chris Wilder’s Premier League flyers Sheffield United.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has claimed that Billy Sharp has no interest in leaving Bramall Lane midway through season despite interest from Celtic, while speaking to the Star.

The Sharp to Celtic rumour is a long-running one.

It was all the way back in 2013 when the veteran striker was first linked with a move to the Scottish Premiership champions and, at the time, the then-Southampton striker had no qualms about publicly labelling his suitors as a ‘massive club’.

So, at the age of 33 and with game-time proving hard to come by at Sheffield United, you could forgive Sharp for being tempted to finally complete a belated move to Glasgow, some seven years on. The Guardian reports that Neil Lennon has renewed his interest in a long-term target at the start of the January transfer window.

But, after firing the Blades from League One to the top half of the top flight, this modern-day club legend isn’t going anywhere just yet.

“I’m open and honest. I’ve told Billy this club has come in for him and that club has come in for him, but he’s always said no,” said Wilder. “He wants to sty until at least the end of the season.”

Celtic’s hopes of making the evergreen goalscorer a bargain January signing, then, appears to be in ruins.

The Hoops continue to be linked with Slovan Braislava talisman Andraz Sporar but the Slovenian is valued at £5 million, according to the Record – far more than Sharp was likely to cost.