Why David Strelec transfer future will have Celtic kicking themselves after deadline day miss

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Celtic were keen to land a striker on deadline day but that never happened.

A Kelechi Iheanacho loan deal was mooted before that move was declared dead as he opted for Middlesbrough.

Mathias Kvistgaarden was a long-term target for the Hoops who scouted the Dane as they knew Kyogo would be departing in the January window.

In the end it was a disappointing day for Celtic fans with only left-back challenger Jeffrey Schlupp arriving before the 11pm deadline on Monday night.

David Strelec was named as a transfer option for Brendan Rodgers who always wanted a new hitman.

The manager then set his sights on the 23-year-old who faced his side in the Champions League earlier this campaign.

• READ MORE: Michael Stewart says four Celtic flops prove transfer recruitment has gone from ‘night to day’

Celtic refused to spend on striker David Strelec

Celts were told exactly what Strelec would cost them before the window closed which would have been close to the £9million mark.

Club chief Ivan KmotrIk then revealed it would take an offer Slovan “could not refuse” to convince the Slovakian giants to part with their talisman.

Rodgers was looking for a loan striker until the end of term and that forced the club to look elsewhere with Strelec learning he would be sticking around for the time being.

Boro also had a £5m bid booted into touch.

Now, though, Strelec could still be on his way out of Bratislava this month with clubs whose transfer windows remain open seeking to move for the goal scorer.

General Director Ivan Kmotrlk has now revealed the club have seemingly had a change of heart despite having no desire to sell last week.

Sides in Turkey, Switzerland, Poland and Austria can all still player trade and there is serious interest in Strelec.

And countless bids have come flying in for the player with his immediate future now up in the air.

What Slovan Bratislava chief said about Strelec transfer offers

Kmotrlk told Sport: “I have to say that there is a huge explosion of interest around David, the situation is changing from hour to hour.

“In the last two days, we have received an enormous number of offers.

“We are negotiating, discussing this topic, but nothing is closed. So I can’t say yet how it will turn out.

“There are countries where the windows are still open. Negotiations were very close from clubs in a lot of countries. The offers are really too high for us to be able to approach it negatively in any way.”