Celtic’s prolonged pursuit of Scott Sinclair looks set to rumble on, with Aston Villa maintaining last night that there had been no further bids received for the player, writes Alison McConnell.
Sinclair, who worked with Brendan Rodgers at Swansea, has been the subject of four bids already from Celtic: £1m, £1.5m, £2.2m and £2.8m, all of which have been turned down by Aston Villa.
READ MORE: Scott Brown: Rangers are not our biggest threat in battle for league title
The 27-year-old has been identified by Rodgers as pivotal to the way in which he wishes to develop his squad at the Parkhead club, but the latest bid which came with various different add-ons was rejected last Friday, with sources inside Villa claiming there had been no formal bids received since then.
Sinclair was signed by Villa from Manchester City last season on a four-year deal and it is believed they want a deal worth around just over £5m for the player.
READ MORE: Scott Brown: Rangers are not our biggest threat in battle for league title
Sinclair’s career has stalled since he went to Manchester City, where he was never a regular feature under Roberto Mancini. The move to Aston Villa last year did not solve the problem, with the player featuring sporadically last term and it is believed the player himself has identified a move to Celtic and working under Rodgers are integral to relaunching his career.
Celtic could now wait until the outcome of their UEFA Champions League third round qualifier against Astana is settled before returning to the negotiating table. Making it into the play-off stages for the group stages would guarantee some form of European revenue next season.
READ MORE: Scott Brown: Rangers are not our biggest threat in battle for league title
Meanwhile, Galatasaray are monitoring the situation of Stefan Johnsen whose form dipped considerably last season.
Elsewhere, Dundee United could raid Celtic Park for loan deals. There have been suggestions that one of either Nadir Ciftci or Gary Mackay-Steven could head back to Tayside this season on a short-term basis. Ciftci spent the latter half of last season on loan with Turkish side Eskisehispor and it looks unlikely that he will feature under Rodgers.
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