Dedryck Boyata was one of the regulars for Celtic last season, making 39 starts for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they completed the domestic treble in Scotland.
The defender’s form saw him make it to the Belgium squad for the 2018 World Cup and he played the full 90 minutes in all three group stage fixtures of the tournament.
A few Premier League clubs were keen on bringing the Celtic player back to England, but the deal didn’t take shape.
Jacques Lichtenstein, Boyata’s agent, confirms interest receiving “several offers” from the top flight in England, but he decided against revealing the names of those sides.
His representative revealed his frustration after the Scottish champions left phones calls, and official offers from other clubs “unanswered”.
“His very good club and World Cup seasons gave Celtic the opportunity to sell the player for a price multiplied by the amount invested on his arrival in 2015. That’s what we all thought,” Lichtenstein told DH.
“However, Celtic has absolutely not responded to the interests of other clubs. Phone calls went unanswered. Meeting requests have been refused. The official offers were left unanswered, sending the message clearly that Celtic did not want to sell the player.”
Boyata has one year left on his contract at Celtic. Lichtenstein expressed his frustration after Celtic initially promissed that his client could be allowed to leave the club.
Asked if the World Cup player would extend his contract, his agent said: “When a club promises a player to be cooperative in the prospect of a transfer in the transfer window, after refusing several offers of Premier League, it does not keep its promise, it seems obvious that they will not hold the promise if the player extends his contract.”
