Celtic end interest in top target after club release public statement

Celtic made it four wins on the bounce in all competitions on Wednesday night, edging past St Johnstone thanks to Mika Baur’s first goal for the club.

It continues an impressive run of form for Martin O’Neill’s side as the new season gathers pace, with the heartbreak in Austria their only defeat so far.

Despite the run, O’Neill isn’t getting carried away with how his side are playing, admitting there’s still plenty of room for improvement even with the results going Celtic’s way: “I’m not sure what to make of it, really,” he told Sky Sports, admitting “we’re still well short of it”.

One player who has continued to catch the eye is Camilo Duran, with the manager reserving special praise for the Colombian after his impact from the bench on Wednesday: “Our main man only came on in the last 10 or 15 minutes. [Duran’s] just been class. He looked tired in the game on Saturday, but I’m not surprised for the amount of things he does for us, both with the ball, which is terrific, and also the work that he does off it.

“He’s second only to Daizen Maeda in terms of closing players down. So, I wanted to try and see if we could do without him, and the answer is probably not.”

Duran was one of several high-profile additions to Celtic’s attack over the summer, arriving alongside Haissem Hassan and Kasper Hogh, as O’Neill looked to reshape his forward options heading into the new campaign.

Celtic end interest in Ghedjemis

Celtic also moved for Frosinone winger Fares Ghedjemis as part of that summer rebuild, with the Algerian one of their top targets throughout the window. Both the Hoops and rivals Rangers submitted bids which were turned down by the Italian club, with Celtic’s interest dating back to a previous offer made in January.

Frosinone president Maurizio Stirpe publicly criticised the pursuit of Ghedjemis this week, telling the Italian press that both Glasgow clubs were “dishonest”, made “inadequate offers” and should have contacted the club first before “feeding the boy ideas”.

Now, Football FanCast sources understand Celtic have effectively pulled out of the race for the Algeria international and will not be renewing their interest when the transfer window reopens in 2027.

The Hoops still want to add to their attackings ranks in the next couple of transfer windows, but the 24 year-old, who has registered one assist so far this season, is no longer an option, with Stirpe making it clear the Italian outfit will demand a much larger fee in 2027.

A move for a homegrown player to provide depth is now seen as more realistic having splashed over £20m on Duran, Hogh and Hassan during the summer.