Gustav Isaksen speaks out after Celtic summer transfer links fell by the wayside

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Celtic’s late window search for arrivals proved to be worth the wait as Brendan Rodgers brought in several reinforcements to strengthen his first-team squad.

The Bhoys brought in Arne Engels, Auston Trusty, Luke McCowan, and Alex Valle before the deadline, adding to the sweeping optimism surrounding Celtic Park at present.

At the start of last week, Celtic pursued Lazio winger Gustav Isaksen on a loan-to-buy basis before swiftly being told he wasn’t for sale during the summer market.

Capped once by Denmark, Isaksen joined the Serie A outfit for £10 million from FC Midtjylland last year. However, the notion of a switch to Scottish shores was ruled out almost instantaneously as the Bhoys sought extra quality in the final third.

Since then, the 23-year-old has spoken out about what his intentions were amid the reality of clubs courting his services.

Gustav Isaksen addresses summer transfer interest

Speaking to TV Midvest, Isaksen has revealed that he instructed his agent to reject any offers from elsewhere as he wasn’t too keen to change surroundings so soon after joining Lazio.

He stated: “With a new coach in place, it feels calmer. It seems like there are longer prospects with the coach we have now. It would be a shame to have spent a whole year getting to know everything at Lazio, only to go somewhere else and have to learn it all again.

“So I said to my agent that even if something exciting comes along, I’m 99 per cent sure I want to stay. I feel I have the potential to be an important player down there.”

More or less, Isaksen has confirmed that Celtic was never an option he took too seriously, as his focus was on establishing himself at Lazio.

It would’ve been nice to have another international-calibre winger available, but that wasn’t to be the case. The Bhoys did try to fulfil that endeavour, but January may be a more suitable time to evaluate whether the flanks need upgrading.

Celtic rejected late approaches from Germany and France for Luis Palma, which signalled they wouldn’t be adding to their options on either side. The Honduran could now have a renewed window of opportunity to stake a claim this season.