Celtic and rivals Rangers were willing to pay £5m to sign Bright Osayi-Samuel from QPR.
That’s according to Fotospor, who reveal the detail amid a report on Fenerbahce’s interest in Ajax youngster Brian Brobbey.
For those that aren’t aware, Osayi-Samuel joined the Turkish side in a £475,000 deal from the Championship side in January, with QPR allowing him to leave as his contract was expiring in the summer.
Before then, he had regularly been linked with moves to various places, including Scotland, where both Celtic and Rangers were said to be keen on his signature.
Ultimately a move didn’t happen, but it seems they were willing to spend to get their man, if Fotospor are to be believed.
They report how Fenerbahce chief Emre Belözoğlu recently ‘went after’ Ajax’s Brobbey, who is set to leave the Dutch side this summer.
It’s explained that he was ready to make ‘many sacrifices’ to get the youngster ahead of bigger sides in Europe, just as he did with Osayi-Samuel, whom Celtic and Rangers were ‘ready to pay £5m’ to secure.
There’s no mention if either Neil Lennon’s (at the time) or Steven Gerrard’s side actually offered that move or sincerely pushed for a deal at that amount, but it seems they were ready to pay relatively big to get their man if they had.
Instead, Osayi-Samuel now finds himself in Turkey, perhaps because he didn’t have an interest in going to either Parkhead or Ibrox, looking to justify the efforts that the Turkish side made to get him ahead of the competition.
