Timothy Castagne admits he was £4m away from Celtic move

Follow us on Google Discover

Celtic wanted to land Timothy Castagne in January.

Atalanta right back Timothy Castagne has told The Scottish Sun that Celtic wanted to sign him for £8million in January – but they couldn’t meet the £12million asking price.

The Bhoys were desperate for a right back in January, as Mikael Lustig was enduring injury issues and Cristian Gamboa was a misfit under Brendan Rodgers.

Rodgers ended up bringing in Borussia Dortmund’s Jeremy Toljan on deadline day in January, but he was far from Celtic’s first choice target.

Rodgers wanted to bring in Atalanta ace Castagne, who was struggling for first-team football at the time behind Dutch international Hans Hateboer.

The 23-year-old ended up featuring regularly as a left wing back for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, enjoying a strong end to the season as he finished up with five goals and two assists.

Castagne has now helped Atalanta qualify for next season’s Champions League, and has been reflecting on how quickly things can change in football.

Castagne has admitted that Celtic wanted him for £8million, but they were £4million away from Atalanta’s asking price, which would’ve been a Bhoys record – and since then, he’s enjoyed an ‘unbelievable turnaround’, meaning any move to Parkhead is now dead in the water.

“It’s incredible how quickly things in football can change,” said Castagne. “In December I wasn’t starting any games and there was a £8million move to Celtic on the table. It looked like I was leaving, but the club wanted £12 million and the deal collapsed. Since then, having not played for 13 games, I played just about every other game and we qualified for the Champion League. So it’s been an unbelievable turnaround for me and I now have the two Euro 2020 games coming up against Kazakhstan and Scotland,” he added.