JOHN GUIDETTI faces pricing himself out of a move to Sporting Lisbon because of his soaring wage demands.
The Portuguese giants have stalled in their efforts to land Celtic’s on-loan frontman in time for the new season.
Guidetti, of course, is a free agent when his contract at Manchester City expires next month and has been linked with former club Feyenoord and Marseille as well as the Lisbon outfit.
The Dutch have offered the Swede something in the region of £800,000-per-year with add-on bonuses, but that has failed to tempt the 23-year-old who scored 20 goals in 23 games at the Rotterdam outfit while on loan from the Etihad side in season 2011/12.
Sporting looked to have jumped to the head of the queue with a lucrative offer, but that hasn’t impressed Guidetti, either.
He became an instant favourite with the Hoops fans during the first half of the campaign when he scored 11 goals in 16 games, including a superb hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Partick Thistle in the League Cup in October last year.
However, he has claimed only four this year, the most memorable being his last-gasp leveller in the 3-3 Europa League draw against Inter Milan at Parkhead in February.
Ronny Deila’s interest in the player has cooled and he has admitted he is looking ahead to to the new season without Guidetti in his plans. The Norwegian admitted he withdrew the offer of a permanent contract in February.
He said: “I don’t think John himself knows what he wants to do.
“If he wants to stay at Celtic then he needs to come to me and say he wants to do it.”
However, it is odds-on the frontman will look elsewhere – if someone can match his salary requirements.
If that doesn’t happen Guidetti may well have to review his position re salary expectations or he could find himself struggling to get any club willing take him on.
Last month the player was censored by the SFA for singing a Celtic supporters song about the player which referred to the liquidation of Rangers FC in 2012. Celtic supporters responded with the banner displayed at the top of this feature.
