Celtic's stance on a move for RB Leipzig's Xaver Schlager has been confirmed amid rumours that the club had made a pre-contract offer for the Austrian international.
The winter transfer window might have closed about a week ago, but that does not mean that transfer speculation surrounding Celtic has vanished. Far from it, the club continue to be linked with a variety of players and confirmed the signing of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just a few days back.
A lot of eyes will already be on the summer though. Martin O'Neill is set to leave again at the end of the season, when his interim run comes to an end. A new manager will be brought in as his replacement.
Celtic will surely be hoping to avoid making another appointment like that of Wilfried Nancy. Whoever they do end up appointing as the next manager will need to be backed in the transfer window though.
One of the players Celtic have been linked with for a little while is Xaver Schlager of RB Leipzig. The Austrian international has been a regular for the German Bundesliga giants, having joined them back in 2022.
His current contract expires in the summer and RB Leipzig have already confirmed that Schlager will be leaving then, having decided not to sign an extension with the German club.
Rumours have cropped up since then that Celtic have offered a pre-contract deal to Schlager, who is also believed to be drawing the interest of Italian giants Juventus.
A lot of Celtic fans have been unconvinced by the rumours from the very beginning though. Schlager is leaving a top Bundesliga side by choice. What are the chances that he would want to move to the Scottish Premiership as his next step?
And now, it looks like such a move is indeed not on the cards. According to the Daily Record, O'Neill has categorically denied that Celtic have offered a pre-contract to Schlager and dismissed suggestions that the Scottish champions are in the race to sign the RB Leipzig midfielder. He said: "No. Definitely not."
Well, it looks like that is what it is when it comes to the Schlager to Celtic transfer saga. It was always going to be very difficult for the club to convince someone like the Austrian international to make the move to Glasgow in his prime.
Schlager is 28 years old and is expected to draw interest from some of Europe's top clubs as a free agent. The unfortunate reality is that Scottish teams do not have the ability to bring in such players these days, unless it is someone like Kieran Tierney, with a prior connection to Celtic.
Join the Community
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!