The father of one Celtic transfer target has launched a jab at Scottish football, labelling it an “intermediate” step for his son.

Celtic miss out on late deals

Brendan Rodgers side may well be well clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, but they remained active in the January transfer window.

Kyogo Furuhashi departed to join Rennes, which left the Scottish giants needing to replace the forward before the window slammed shut. After failing with several offers to sign a new forward, they ultimately opted to re-sign Jota, with the 25-year-old joining from the same side that Kyogo joined.

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He has already marked his return with two goals and an assist in three Scottish Premiership outings, hitting the ground running at his former stomping ground and beginning to pay back his transfer fee at Celtic Park. But that move hasn’t gone down well in all quarters.

Strelec's father reacts to failed transfer

Before they signed Jota, one player that Celtic made a move for was Slovan Bratislava talent David Strelec, who has found the net 11 times in 19 games so far this season and who had caught the eye of Rodgers’ side.

They made an offer to sign the forward, but it was knocked back by the Slovakian side as it was deemed to be too low, and Celtic ultimately moved onto other targets before landing Jota.

Appearances

19

Goals

11

Assists

3

Minutes per goal involvement

83.5

And now Strelec’s father has revealed just what happened, and how it left both him and his son fuming.

“You know, when I heard about Celtic’s interest, I was thrilled”, he explained. “I was there at Slovan’s first match in the Champions League, whole families were sitting there, old and young, amazing atmosphere. I would have loved to see him there. He has made great progress since the Euro, he is doing well, he is scoring goals. But the decision about his transfer was made higher up.

“Celtic’s bid of 9.5m Euros? [£7.9m] That didn’t help either. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. But none of us knows the exact details of the contract or how the installments or bonuses were set. Maybe Slovan wanted to get it all at once, that’s why the club decided against it. It’s probably pointless to get into it.”

However, his further comments will not go down well with fans either side of the Old Firm divide, with Strelec adding that Scotland was just a two-team league and an “intermediate step” for his son.

“I watched the Celtic game over the weekend, everyone knows that the Scottish competition is about two clubs, but it could have been a good intermediate step for David. But there are things you simply can’t influence. It turned out the way it turned out. We’ll see what happens in the summer. My son will continue to perform well, I’m sure of that.

“It was beyond my control. They have invested a lot in David over the years, although some would say he’s already paid it back. I guess they know what they’re doing. My son will continue to perform well and be professional and in the summer… who knows?”

If Celtic go back in for the Slovakian, he will have some work to do to win over the Parkhead faithful.