Lennon will have final say if bids come in during transfer window

Chief football writer

Friday 14 December 2012

NEIL Lennon has an agreement with Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, that no January bids will be accepted for any of the club's players without the manager's approval.

Neil Lennon hopes to speak with Peter Lawwell regarding players' contracts. Picture: SNS

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Michael Grant

Lennon is confident that all of his major players will still be with Celtic at the end of next month's transfer window. Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper have been the subject of keen speculation about moves to England but, crucially, they have indicated to Lennon they are happy to stay at Parkhead.

Any massive bid would still leave the club with a decision to make, though, and while Lennon acknowledged that other managers inevitably would be interested in his players, he insisted no-one would be sold without his consultation and go-ahead."I'm pretty confident about the January window. We don't need to sell," he said. "Everyone has their price and I think I will have a say in the decision if a huge bid comes in for any of the players. I don't want them to go. I want them to see this season out and make a real fist of the competitions. There are not many teams still going on four fronts – including the Champions League – with half the season gone. When asked if he expected to have the final say in the event of a serious bid being received, Lennon said: "I'd like to think so, yeah. At the time when Aiden [McGeady] was going, I felt it was good business. It was a good offer and something where we could use the money on the team."We are now in a totally different scenario here. We are in a position where we don't need to sell although every player does have his price. It might depend on the club as well. It could be the case that I don't want to stand in the way of a player going to one of the bigger clubs, but I hope I don't have to face that scenario."If a bid comes in on the last day of the window, it's too late for us to accept it. I wouldn't have time [to replace him] and a club would have had all month to put a bid in. That sort of thing happens, but it won't happen here. Not to any of our major players, anyway."

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Lennon will have final say if bids come in during transfer window

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