‘CELTIC KNOCKED BACK MY BID FOR ERIK,’ CLAIMS DANISH BOSS

FC COPENHAGEN Head Coach Stale Solbakken has claimed Celtic have priced them out of a move for Erik Sviatchenko.

The Danish club’s boss insisted they had a £2.7million offer for the 25-year-old central defender rejected last week.

Their hopes of returning for their countryman received a massive setback when they were knocked out of the Champions League by the Hoops’ old foes Qarabag, of Azerbaijan.

Sviatchenko has been missing since receiving a knee knock against Rosenborg in the 1-0 win in Trondheim on August 2 and Solbakken now admits he’s unlikely to resurrect a deal for the Danish international.

He said: “We were in dialogue with Celtic, but the distance between our bid and their asking price was so great that there was no point dwelling on it.”

With Sviatchenko and central defensive partner Dedryck Boyata also sidelined, Brendan Rodgers is in the market for another centre-half.

However, the proposed £800,000 deal for South African international Rivaldo Coetzee collapsed when the Ajax Cape Town star failed a medical test.

Jason Denayer is available for yet another loan move out of Manchester City and may well be on Celtic’s radar, as he usually is at this time of the year!