Celtic have been chasing Jakob Breum for weeks now.
The Danish star is wanted by the Parkhead giants, but a number of transfer bids have been rejected by Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles.
The Eagles want £5m for Breum, so it’s up to the Celtic hierarchy whether they think returning to the negotiating table is justified for that price.
Now, the club’s chief executive Jan Willem van Dop has directly addressed Celtic’s interest in Breum and their failure to meet the Eagles’ demands.
And he aimed a brutal swipe at the Hoops after Rangers were able to swiftly complete a deal to sign Oliver Antman from the Eredivisie outfit.
Jan Willem van Dop aims brutal Celtic swipe
Rangers were able to successfully recruit Finnish winger Antman from the Eagles this summer for a fee of around £4m.
It’s in stark contrast with Celtic in their attempts to sign Breum, with Van Dop comparing the Glasgow rivals’ transfer negotiations.
Speaking to Algemeen Dagblad, Van Dop said Celtic should have conducted their business like Rangers. He said: “There was some interest from Celtic for Jakob Breum, but we felt the gap was too wide.
“Things moved very quickly around Oliver Antman and Glasgow Rangers. Celtic could have taken a leaf out of Rangers’ book, haha.”
Celtic target Jakob Breum is now injured
To make matters worse for Celtic, any future negotiations to sign Breum may need to be put on hold until he’s fit again.
Breum picked up an ankle injury after playing the full 94 minutes against PSV as the Eagles failed to win the Johan Cruyff Shield on Sunday.
The 21-year-old will subsequently miss Friday night’s game between the Eagles and Fortuna Sittard, but his manager his hopeful that he can return to action next week.
Celtic need two wingers before the deadline on September 1 – and arguably another striker – as Brendan Rodgers chases deals with time running out.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
