Celtic 'ready to submit' latest transfer offer for key target as selling club make big bucks demand
Seria A club looking for eight figures for their midfielder
Celtic are ‘ready’ to launch a bid for transfer target Gvidas Gineitis as Italian side Torino reportedly stick a £12m price tag on the midfielder.
The middle of the park is an area Hoops boss Martin O’Neill is looking to strengthen, with playmaker Arne Engels edging closer to a West Ham transfer and maestro Reo Hatate seeking a move elsewhere. Lithuania international - capped 32 times - Gineitis has been a long-term subject of transfer interest from the Hoops, who are now set to act.
The 22-year old has been a mainstay for the Serie A side, making 29 appearances last season. He has two years remaining on Torino contract, but remains open to a transfer elsewhere. Teams in the German Bundesliga are also interested.
Celtic ‘ready to submit’ bid for key target
Strikers Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh remain Celtic’s only incoming transfers before their season gets underway on Monday night at home to Dundee. As they look for reinforcements elsewhere, journalist Nicolo Schira claims via X: “Celtic are ready to submit a new bid to Torino for Gvidas Gineitis. Toro ask 14-15M to sell the midfielder (born in 2004).”
If Engels and Hatate were to go, Celtic would be very light in the midfield, with captain Callum McGregor, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Paulo Bernardo and Luke McCowan their only real box-to-box options. With an all-important Champions League play-off tie on the horizon later this month, the club are looking to act fast to resolve this.
Who is Gvidas Gineitis?
At 6’ 3”, the midfielder would bring a physical presence in the middle of the park to the east end of Glasgow. Despite his young age, Gineitis has already accumulated 32 senior caps for Lithuania since making his international debut four years ago. He can either be deployed as a box-to-box midfielder or a number 10.
The Hoops target came through the ranks at NFA Kaunas before making the move to Lithuanian rivals FK Atmosfera in 2019. From here, he was enlisted by Serie B side SPAL, however was unable to register a first team appearance. Despite this, after impressing for the under-19 side of the Italian club, he was rewarded with a move to Torino in 2022, where he’s made 80 subsequent top flight appearances.