Peter Lawwell responds to Joey Barton’s claims Celtic approached him before Rangers switch

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Barton claimed that the Scottish Premiership champions made a move for him before he completed his switch to Glasgow Rangers.

Celtic directors Ian Bankier (L) and Peter Lawwell (R) watch from the stands

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has responded to claims made by Joey Barton that the Hoops tried to snatch the midfielder’s signature as he closed in on a move to their Old Firm rivals Rangers, STV reports.

The 34-year-old – who is currently serving a three-week suspension at Ibrox – claimed that upon hearing the news that he was close to signing for Mark Warburton’s men, Lawwell got in contact to see if he would consider moving to Parkhead instead, the Daily Mail reports.

Joey Barton previously Celtic made a move for him

But Lawwell has suggested that he was told that it was Barton who wanted the Bhoys to make a move, only for an agent to be told that the Scottish Premiership champions were not interested.

“I remember it well, we had just announced Brendan as our new manager and I was with our company secretary in London at the time,” he said, as reported by STV.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers with chief executive Peter Lawwell (L) during the press conference

“An agent called me saying that Joey was going to sign for Rangers but he would really prefer to come to Celtic and were we interested in signing him, but it wasn’t something we wanted to pursue.”

If Lawwell’s version of events are accurate, then Celtic fans may well be feeling that their side has had a lucky escape based on the recent events at Murray Park.

Brendan Rodgers’ tenure has seen a much more positive team atmosphere created it seems, and while Barton is undoubtedly an excellent player when he is on form, there is always the potential for something to go wrong as it now has done at Rangers, so signing him would have been a big gamble.

And while some Gers supporters may not take Lawwell’s account too seriously, others may reflect on this event as another reason why the Light Blues made a big mistake bringing the former Manchester City man to the club in the first place.