In the winter market, Celtic were interested in signing Timothy Castagne from Atalanta.
We covered claims from Belgium that the Bhoys were willing to pay a €6.7m fee to secure the defender’s services, while his employer were demanding around €10m to part ways with the right-back midway through the season.
Apart from the Scottish Premiership club, Lazio and Fiorentina were also looking at the possibility of signing the fullback in January.
Amid interest from Celtic and the other two Italian clubs, Castagne decided against leaving Atalanta.
DH in Belgium sat down for an interview with the player and he explained why he decided against leaving the Serie A outfit.
When asked if he would have been happy to leave Atalanta, with Celtic mentioned, Castagne said: “No. It would have been a failure for me, as if I had not lived up to expectations. I would have not accepted.”
The Belgium international’s contract at Atalanta runs down in 2020 and the fullback explained the conditions for transfer.
“If I leave, it’s through the front door, after a good season and for a nice amount,” he explained.
Castagne has set his sights on moving to club that will be in the Champions League. It is his desire to play for the top flight club competition in Europe.
“I confirm [I want to play in the Champions League]. I have played the Europa League with Genk and Atalanta and I would like to discover this competition, I have to set goals, I want to play for trophies, not just to qualify for the Europe,” the fullback added.
Neil Lennon is currently interim manager at Celtic and he’ll certainly be expecting to secure Champions League qualification.
