Darragh MacAnthony has confirmed that Celtic were desperate to sign Ivan Toney during the summer transfer window.
The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a move from Peterborough to Parkhead, but he wound up joining Brentford in a £5 million deal.
Celtic struggled to agree a fee with Posh, even after chairman Barry Fry claims that the Hoops would eventually sell the striker for a £50 million figure at some point in the future.
In the end, Neil Lennon went and signed Albian Ajeti for £500,000 less than what the Championship side paid for Toney.
But United owner McAnthony has claimed the Celtic boss spoke with Toney about moving to Glasgow, adding that the player himself might’ve wanted a move to Scotland.
Here’s what MacAnthony told The Hard Truth podcast: “Celtic, Rangers, clubs in Scotland, don’t have the TV deals, don’t have the money. They have to player trade. I know Neil Lennon wanted him desperately and spoke to Ivan a couple of times. Ivan was high on their list and it probably would’ve appealed to him because Celtic is one of the biggest clubs in Britain.”
Things have worked out okay for Celtic, with Ajeti netting five Premiership goals in only four starts since joining from West Ham United.
As for Toney, he seems to be enjoying Championship football too after netting 10 goals in as many games for the Londoners, who lost Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa during the summer.
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