Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has swiftly refuted claims that Celtic could land Siriki Dembele in a bargain deal.
Celtic are said to be considering a move for Dembele by TeamTalk, who claimed that his contract at Posh was expiring at the end of the season.
If that had been the case then Celtic would have been free to speak with the trickster in January.
However, MacAnthony says Posh have already taken up an option to extend Dembele’s contract, which means that Celtic will have to pay up if they want to land the 24-year-old.
“The fools writing this article must not realise the little thing called an option we already taken up on our boy. So no freebie talks in January I’m afraid,” MacAnthony wrote on Facebook.
Celtic have already been interested in one Posh player recently, as they tried to sign Ivan Toney in the summer.
Toney was deemed too expensive by Celtic, as reported by the Daily Record, and there must be fears that they could miss out on Dembele too, as a result.
If Dembele was to move to Parkhead he would give them a direct attacking threat, and inject some pace and skill into their attack.
Dembele has scored five goals and claimed four assists in just 12 League One games for Posh this term.
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