Celtic have had a confirmed bid for Peterborough United striker, Ivan Toney, rejected after the English League 1 club revealed that they had received a huge amount of interest in the 24-goal striker according to the Glasgow Times.
The Peterborough Chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, revealed on Twitter in response to speculation that they had accepted a bid from Brentford, however, this was dismissed and so was the £4million transfer fee:
“Don’t believe the figures quoted for any player. We would keep Ivan Toney rather than sell him for this. Cheers.”
“Look, we have had multiple bids for him from Prem/Champ and one from Scotland. As expected. I won’t go into who etc as that’s private. As of today he is still our player.”
Director of Football Barry Fry revealed that Celtic have made a bid but that it was dismissed out of hand with the Hoops apparently some way off their valuation:
“We received a bid for Ivan from Celtic on Friday and we turned them down flat. What’s it going to take to get him? It will take a lot more than Celtic offered.
“It’s their first bid, so I don’t know, they might come back. I know Celtic are after another striker down here as well.
“But if we keep Toney and get to the Championship that’s worth £12.5m to us. I’ve told the lad that.”
Neil Lennon is obviously in the hunt for extra firepower with Albian Ajeti also said to be a target with the £8million West Ham striker weighing up his options before committing on his short-term future.
Celtic were never short of goals last season but similar to the way in which the Hoops gaffer changed shape after the winter break with his team top of the table, being proactive rather than reactive is often the difference between success and failure – something that Lennon knows all about.