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The midfielder signed a new five-year deal with Celtic, but it did little to halt the interest in him down south with his agent confirming he will leave in the summer.

Dudu Dahan has been involved in plenty of transfers recently in bringing players to Paradise, but it seems his client Bitton, will be moving on this summer.

Speaking on Sport 5 radio station, as quoted by the Daily Express Dahan said:

We have had interest in Nir from English Premier League sides.

Celtic have been approached, but right now is not the right time.

The market price for him is not less than £10m. Some players in the Premier League are not as good as him and have been bought and sold for a lot more money.

He will go to the Premier League – but in the summer, not in January.

Nir currently still has a lot of achieve with Celtic and he has a contract in Scotland up until 2020.

Steve Welsh/Getty Images SportSteve Welsh/Getty Images Sport

Bitton joined Celtic in 2013 from FC Ashdod for a fee worth around £700,000.

During his time in a Hoops shirt so far, Bitton has won two league titles and the Scottish League Cup, and will be hoping Celtic can complete the domestic treble for the first time since 2001.

The 24-year-old has made 60 appearances thus far for Celtic, scoring some stunning goals in his time including this one earlier this season.

His value is expected to at least 15 times his initial transfer to Celtic, with his former side receiving 20% through a sell-on clause.

Bitton will join a growing list of players moving to the Premier League, as Forster, Wanyama, van Dijk, Matthews, Ledley and Hooper, all making the move down south in the last three years.

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ADVENT CALENDAR #7: CELEBRATING BOBBY LENNOX

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FINNDEKOOL 22 mins ago

Sounds pie in the sky

But

I hope so

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TBJ says Wee Oscar Knox is in heaven with the angels on 7th December 2015 8:50 am

Another wet and windy day on London Rd. .. bet the celts are happy to be flying out to sunnI turkey .

Reading about Bitton agent saying he is off to the premier league in the summer. Can’t say i am too bothered if we get decent money for him . Hopefully we replace him with joey Barton

67Heaven .. CHALLENGING THE LIE ..I am wee Oscar...... Ipox belongs to the creditors on 7th December 2015 8:54 am

TBJ

Joey Barton ???? ….is he no due to collect his pension at sevco?

tonydonnelly67 on 7th December 2015 8:54 am

Unionist MSP James Kelly has praised Dave King over his pledge to pay a handfull of staff the living wage!

Taking the South African based criminal on his word is a dangerous business as investors, tax collectors and judges in his adopted homeland know to their cost.

Attention seeking Kelly looks certain to join the ranks of the unemployed on 6 May 2016 when the good folk of Rutherglen get the opportunity to end his privileged lifestyle of first class travel, expenses and the other benefits that a career in politics offers.

While Kelly lapped up the sound-bites from the AGM the more discerning of his constituents will have noted that the club in the Govan area haven’t in fact signed up to the Living Wage.

Like Mr King’s promise to repay £5m to Sports Direct, Kelly should realise that it is the comment of a glib and shameless liar.

Showing the awareness that saw new Labour virtually wiped off the map at the Westminster elections earlier this year the Rutherglen MSP said: “I welcome the announcement by Rangers that they will adopt the living wage and pay it to all their employees.

“This is a significant move which I know will be welcomed by supporters of all clubs.

“Football clubs have an important role to play in taking a lead and ensuring that workers are paid a fair days’ pay for a fair days’ work.

“This increases the pressure on Celtic and I am calling on the Celtic board to reconsider their position and pay all their staff a living wage.”

Rather than desperately chase votes in the hope of hanging onto his Holyrood meal ticket Kelly ought to look beyond the headlines before opening his gob.

For the avoidance of doubt Celtic pay the living wage to all full-time employees. Committing to the Living Wage charter would be appreciated by almost all supporters and the lowest paid employees who mainly work in the club’s retail stores.

As he enters the last five months of his political career Kelly should perhaps consider throwing his support behind the hundreds of Glasgow businesses and public bodies that went unpaid by liquidation in 2012.

While taxi companies, florists and newsagents suffered hardship for unpaid bills Kelly’s Hero Mr King enjoys first class travel between South Africa and the UK while the likes of Lee Wallace, Ally McCoist, David Templeton, Andrew Dickson and Lee McCulloch have raked in fortunes since 2012.

In 2010 unionist Kelly took the Rutherglen seat with a majority of less than 2,000 from the SNP, it won’t take many more voters to switch side’s to end the gravy train for the out of touch Labour man. At the Westminster election SNP took the Rutherglen seat with a 10,000 majority.

tonydonnelly67 on 7th December 2015 9:05 am

He’s got the right attitude, and well done RD giving the kid his chance.

Celtic kid Kieran Tierney is keen to get as much game time under his belt as possible after breaking into the senior side this season.

The Hoops head to Turkey this week on Europa League duty, an environment where Tierney has impressed for the club in the left-back berth.

The 18-year-old is determined to maintain the standards he has set for himself in the first-team and will look to consolidate his credentials as a member of the first-team squad.

“Any starts or game-time I get is brilliant for me and I just need to make the most of it,” he told the official Celtic website. “The games will be coming thick and fast so I’ll need to be ready.

“Playing for the Celtic first-team doesn’t happen to many people, especially supporters, so I need to make the most of every minute.

“I’m delighted with the progress I’ve made and the faith the manager has put in me by putting me in the team,” he explained. “I just need to try to repay that with performances.

“It’s still hard to believe, playing for Celtic and starting matches in the first-team. I just need to take it all in and make the most of it.

“Everything that’s happened recently is hard to take in. I just see myself as still being a Celtic fan. It’s brilliant. I need to appreciate every moment I have with the first-team and make the most of it.

“I’ve worked so hard to play for Celtic and have supported them all my life, so it’s a dream to play for them. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. I need to keep my feet on the ground. I’m still young, it’s still early doors and I need to keep working hard and get more appearances under my belt.

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“My family are the same as me and a few of them can’t believe it either. I don’t get treated any differently at home and I still do my duties at Lennoxtown, so that’s good for keeping my feet on the ground.

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“The manager and John Collins have also just been saying the same things since the start of the season and that is to just keep working hard and I’ll get my chance, and when I do get my chance I need to take it, so nothing has changed on that front.”

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:09 am

Question 1: Thank you for seeing us Mr President. As you know, the British government today will be voting on whether it will join the coalition airstrikes against ISIS. Is Britain right to join airstrikes against ISIS in Syria? And do you welcome its involvement; and will it make things worse or not make a change?

President Assad: If I want to let’s say, evaluate a book, I cannot take or single out a phrase from that book to evaluate the whole book. I have to look at the headlines, then the titles of the chapters and then we can discuss the rest of the book. So, what we are talking about is only an isolated phrase. If we want to go back to the headline, it is “the will to fight terrorism.” We know from the very beginning that Britain and France were the spearheads in supporting the terrorists in Syria, from the very beginning of the conflict. We know that they don’t have that will, even if we want to go back to the chapter on military participation with the coalition, it has to be comprehensive, it has to be from the air, from the ground, to have cooperation with the troops on the ground, the national troops for the interference or participation to be legal. It is legal only when the participation is in cooperation with the legitimate government in Syria. So, I would say they don’t have the will and they don’t have the vision on how to defeat terrorism.

And if you want to evaluate, let’s evaluate from the facts. Let’s go back to the reality on the ground. Since that coalition started its operation a year or so, what was the result? ISIS and al-Nusra and other like-minded organizations or groups, were expanding, expanding freely. What was the situation after the Russians participated in fighting terrorism directly? ISIS and al-Nusra started shrinking. So I would say, first they will not give any results. Second, it will be harmful and illegal, and it will support terrorism as what happened after the coalition started its operation a year or so, because this is like a cancer. You cannot cut the cancer. You have to extract it. This kind of operation is like cutting the cancer that will make it spread in the body faster.

tonydonnelly67 on 7th December 2015 9:10 am

Former Celtic striker Harald Brattbakk has backed Ronny Deila to get it right at Celtic, despite a catalogue of poor European results this season.

The curtain will come down on Celtic’s European season this week after Thursday’s game in Istanbul against Fenerbahce.

The Turks can still make it into the last 32 of the competition, while Celtic are playing for little more than the chance to salvage some pride after a disastrous campaign.

It is a chance for Deila to prove he is capable of building a credible Celtic team that can compete in Europe and Brattbakk believes that the Parkhead board are right to give his fellow Norwegian time.

“I have read that Peter [Lawwell] wants to give Ronny a chance to show that he can get it right and I think that is fair,” he said. “No-one knows more than Ronny that he must get it right in Europe.

“I know how much he hurt after the Molde games. I know how frustrated he was.

“The big question that he has to ask himself, though, is whether he believes he can take this Celtic team into the UEFA Champions League group stages next summer because that is what he will be judged on. But to my mind, it is right to give him that chance.”

Meanwhile, Celtic have been linked with a move for under-17 Croatian internationalist Davor Lovren, although Liverpool have also been keeping tabs on the player. Lovren’s brother, Dejan, is currently at Anfield already.

Swansea have also been reported to be keeping an eye on Celtic’s Callum McGregor who has recently emerged back into Celtic’s first-team.

With the transfer window opening again in four weeks, Deila has admitted that already has his sights on doing some business.

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The Norwegian will have an eye on the qualifiers this summer, but what happens in Istanbul this week may well have a bearing on whether or not he gets the opportunity to build a team for that particular challenge.

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“You learn a lot about European football but also about your own team,” said Deila. ” Everybody understands that we have to make improvements. It’s very clear to me what I need to improve for next season. You could say defending but it’s about individual improvements and improving as a team. We have to make the squad stronger and better. That is about developing the players who are here and adding some who can make us even stronger.

“This transfer window could be important. But it’s not just about getting new players but getting the right ones too.”

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:10 am

Question 2: Are you saying, just to clarify two things, are you saying that the British, if the British join the intervention, that includes also the other coalition, with that intervention you see that is illegitimate from an international-law perspective?

President Assad: Definitely, definitely, we are a sovereign country. Look at the Russians, when they wanted to make this alliance against terrorism, the first thing they did was they started discussions with the Syrian government before anyone else. Then they started discussing the same issue with other governments. Then they came. So, this is the legal way to combat any terrorist around the world.

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:12 am

Question 3: You say that France and Britain are responsible for the rise of terrorism here. But they were not responsible for the rise of ISIS, for example, is not that a little bit a harsh accusation?

President Assad: Let’s start from what Blair said. He said that invading Iraq led to the rise of ISIS. And we know that ISIS started publically, announcing itself as a state in Iraq in 2006, and the leader was Abu Mosaab al-Zerqawi. He was killed by American strikes; and they announced that they killed him. So, they know he existed and they know that IS in Iraq at that time had existed; and that it moved to Syria after the beginning of conflict in Syria because of the chaos that happened. So, they confess. British officials confessed, mainly Blair; and the reality is telling, that they helped in the rise of ISIS and al-Nusra in this region.

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:15 am

Question 4: In your view, does al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, pose an equal or a greater long-term threat to the West than ISIS? And as such, is Britain’s Prime Minister, Cameron, going after the wrong enemy? I.e. he is going after ISIS instead of going after al-Nusra.

President Assad: The whole question is about the structure, and the problem is not about the structure of the organization. It is about their ideology. They do not base their actions on the structure, they base them on their dark, Wahhabi deviated ideology. So, if we want to evaluate these two, the difference between the two, there is no difference because they have the same ideology. This is one aspect. The other aspect, if we want to talk about their grassroots, their followers, their members, you cannot have this distinction, because they move from one organization or one group to another. And that is why sometimes they fight with each other, for their vested interests, on a local and small scale. But in reality they are cooperating with each other on every level. So, you cannot tell which is more dangerous because this is one mentality. It is like if you say the first one is al-Qaida and the second one is al-Qaida. The difference is the label, and maybe some other trivial things.

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:18 am

Question 5: Last week, a key part of Cameron’s argument for extending UK airstrikes to Syria was a number that he used – 70 thousand moderate rebels – that he mentioned “don’t belong to extremist groups”, but are already on the ground, who the west can use to help them in the fight of ISIS. As far as you know, which groups are included in the 70 thousand? Are you aware of 70 thousand moderate rebels in Syria?

President Assad: Let me be frank and blunt about this. This is a new episode in a long series of David Cameron’s classical farce, to be very frank. This is not acceptable. Where are they? Where are the 70 thousand moderates that he is talking about? That is what they always talk about: moderate groups in Syria. This is a farce based on offering the public factoids instead of facts.

The Russians have been asking, since the beginning of their participation two months ago. They have said: where are those moderates? No one gave them an answer. Actually, since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, there were no moderate militants in Syria. All of them were extremists. And in order not to say I am just giving excuses and so on, go back to the internet, go back to the social networking sites. They uploaded their atrocities’ videos and pictures, with their faces and their rhetoric. They use swords, they do beheadings; they ate the heart of a dismembered innocent person and so on.

And you know, the confession of a criminal is the incontrovertible fact. So, those are the 70 thousand moderates he is taking about. It is like if we describe the terrorists who committed the attack in Paris recently, and before that in Charlie Hebdo, and before that in the UK nearly ten years ago, and in Spain before that, and the 11th of September in New York, to describe them as moderate opposition. That is not accepted anywhere in this world; and there is no 70 thousand, there is no 7 thousand, he does not have, maybe now ten of those.

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:19 am

Question 6: Not even the Kurds and the FSA for example, the free Syrian army?

President Assad: The Kurds are fighting the terrorists with the Syrian army, in the same areas.

Question 7: But they are also being supported and armed and trained and backed by the Americans to also launch, to fight …

President Assad: Mainly by the Syrian army, and we have the documents. We sent them armaments, because they are Syrian citizens, and they want to fight terrorism. We do the same with many other groups in Syria, because you cannot send the army to every part of Syria. So, it is not only the Kurds. Many other Syrians are doing the same.

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:22 am

Question 8: U.S. Secretary of state John Kerry said last Friday that the Syrian government could cooperate with the opposition forces against the ISIS even if president Assad is still in office, but he said that this would be so difficult if the opposition fighters, who have been fighting the Syrian president, don’t have a faith that the Syrian president will eventually leave power.

Kerry also said that concerning the timing of leaving office, the answer is it is not obvious whether he will have to leave.

Meanwhile, the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told Le Progres Newspaper on Saturday that he no longer believes that President Assad’s departure is essential to any political transition in Syria, adding that the political transition does not mean that President Assad should step down before it but there should be future insurances.

My question: Do you intend to complete your presidential term until 2021 or do you expect a referendum or presidential elections prior to that date? And if so, when can these elections be held? And what can make you decide to hold them? And if they are held, is it certain that you will be running for election? What can influence your decision?

President Assad: The answer depends on the context of the question. If it is related to a settlement in Syria, then early elections have nothing to do with ending the conflict. This can only happen by fighting terrorists and ceasing Western and regional support for terrorists…Early elections will only be held as part of a comprehensive dialogue about future by the political powers and the civil society groups in Syria.

Thus, it is not about the will of the President, but rather the will of the Syrian people…It is about a political process. If this process is agreed on, then I have the right to run for elections like any other Syrian citizen…My decision in this case will be based on my ability to deliver on my commitments…and on whether I have the support of the Syrian people or not….Anyway, It is early to talk about this, because as you know, this process was not agreed upon yet.

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:28 am

Question 9: Do you think ISIS can be defeated by airstrikes alone?

President Assad: Did the coalition defeat them by airstrikes during the last year or so? It didn’t. Did the Americans achieve anything from the airstrikes in Afghanistan? They achieved nothing. Did they achieve anything in Iraq since the invasion in 2003? Nothing. You cannot defeat ISIS through airstrikes alone, without cooperation with forces on the ground. You cannot defeat them if you do not have buy-in from the general public and the government. They cannot defeat ISIS by airstrikes; they are going to fail again. The reality is telling.

Question 10: If the international coalition refuses, as it has so far, to coordinate with the Syrian Army, or with the local troops on the ground, what is your next plan? I mean do you have a plan B beyond what is going on? How do you plan to end this war?

President Assad: This coalition is illusive, it’s virtual, because it has not made any achievements in fighting terrorism on the ground in Syria. Since an illusion doesn’t exist, let’s not waste time with the ‘before and after.’ From the very beginning we started fighting terrorism irrespective of any global or world powers. Whoever wants to join us is welcome, and whether they join us or not, we are going to continue. This is our plan. It is the only plan we have and we will not change it.

Question 11: Are you calling on them to ask the Syrian government to coordinate and cooperate with the Syrian army and the Syrian air force in the fight against terrorists?

President Assad: We are very realistic. We know that they are not going to do so and that they don’t have the will. This is more about international law than anything else. Is it possible that western governments, or regimes, don’t know the basics of international law, that they don’t understand the meaning of a sovereign state or that they haven’t read the UN Charter? They have no respect for international law and we didn’t ask for their cooperation.

Question 12: But would you like them to?

President Assad: If they are ready – serious and genuine – to fight terrorism, we welcome any country or government, any political effort. In that regard we are not radical, we are pragmatic. Ultimately, we want to resolve the situation in Syria and prevent further bloodshed. That is our mission. So, it’s not about love or hate, accepting or not, it is about reality. Are they truly ready to help us fight terrorism, to stop terrorists coming into Syria through their surrogate governments in our region, or not? That is the real question. If they are ready, we will welcome them. This is not personal.

Question 13: Do you think it is possible for you, in Syria, and for your allies – Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and other allies – to defeat ISIS militarily; and if so, how long do you think it might take?

President Assad: The answer is based on two factors: our capabilities on the one hand, and the support the terrorists receive on the other. From our perspective, if you were to remove the support these groups get from various countries in our region and the West in general, it will take a matter of months to achieve our mission. It is not very complicated, the solution is very clear to us. However, these groups have unlimited support from these countries, which makes the situation drag on, makes it more complicated and harder to resolve. This means our mission will be achieved at a much higher price, which will ultimately be paid by Syrians.

Question 14: But there has already been a high price: over 200,000 people have been killed.

President Assad: You are right, and that is a consequence of the support I referred to.

Question 15: But a lot of it is also blamed on the Syrian government and the Syrian use of force, sometimes indiscriminate or unnecessary force in certain areas that has brought about a large number of people killed. How do you respond to that?

President Assad: First, all wars are bad. There is no such thing as a good war. In every war there are always too many innocent casualties. These are only avoidable by bringing that war to an end. So it is self-evident that wars anywhere in the world will result in loss of life. But the rhetoric that has been repeated in the West for a long time ignores the fact that from day one terrorists were killing innocent people, it also ignores that fact that many of the people killed were supporters of the government and not vice versa. As a government, our only countermeasure against terrorists is to fight them. There is no other choice. We cannot stop fighting the terrorists who kill civilians for fear of being accused by the West of using force.

Saint Stivs on 7th December 2015 9:36 am

Question.

Why all the questions.?

Canamalar on 7th December 2015 9:38 am

Times interview, just enlightening about where our tax’s have been and are getting spent.

Joe Filippis Haircut on 7th December 2015 9:38 am

Good Morning Bhoys another wet morning in Central Scotland I see the papers quoting 10 million for Bitton for that kind of money I will drive him to the airport myself. I think midfield is one area where we have plenty of cover.H.H.

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