Sondre Orjasaeter was one of those players that Celtic pursued over multiple transfer windows.
The Norwegian winger was destined to leave Sarpsborg at some point, and Brendan Rodgers was one of his biggest admirers.
Celtic made an offer last January, but when Jota became available via the deal to sell Kyogo Furuhashi, the Hoops’ attention was shifted.
By the summer, Jota was injured and Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah had also been sold, so Celtic re-entered the race. However, Orjasaeter opted in favour of a move to FC Twente.
He has openly admitted that he could’ve moved to Celtic, and has now reflected further on his decision.
Should Celtic allow Stephen Welsh leave the club permanently?
Watch Jens Berthel Askou speak about signing Stephen Welsh permanently from Celtic.
Sondre Orjasaeter on near Celtic move
At £5.2 million, Orjasaeter became Twente’s most expensive signing in almost 15 years.
There’s no doubt that Celtic could’ve met these financial terms, should Orjasaeter have been in favour of the move.
READ MORE: Russell Martin ‘in line’ to replace Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy at Columbus Crew
But he has now revealed that he made the split-second decision against it, largely due to the platform for young players in the Eredivisie.
He told De Twaalfde Man: “I don’t think the type of football played [at Celtic] suits me best.
“The Eredivisie has proven to be a very good platform for young players like me, and there are a lot of technically skilled players there.”
“I didn’t have much time to think about whether I wanted to go to FC Twente. Of course, I knew they were narrowly eliminated in the Europa League group stage last season against Bodø/Glimt.
“Everyone I spoke to about the club talked about the fans and how Twente played.”
“It wasn’t that difficult for me to decide. I didn’t contact Mathias Kjølø (Norwegian teammate) about it beforehand. I can still speak Norwegian with him, and it’s also nice that he can help me learn Dutch quickly.
“I’m happy with how the club is structured; we have a lot of fun and do funny things together. I like that. We’re a good group of friends and a team that wants to work hard for our fans.”
Should Celtic sign Kieron Bowie from Hibernian in January?
Other Celtic summer targets from summer 2025, and where they are now
Celtic’s summer 2025 transfer window as one of the least successful in recent memory, but what about the players they missed out on?
Kasper Dolberg got off to a difficult start at Ajax, but he has been among the goals in December as his career gets back on track.
Also in Eredivisie is midfielder Jakob Breum, who was publicly pursued. He has recently recovered from an injury and is expected to remain at Go Ahead Eagles in January.
Louis Munteanu, on the other hand, is not expected to stay put, as he continues to push publicly for a move away from CFR Cluj.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
