Now, Ipswich’s big offer to sign a Celtic target at Portman Road has been turned down.
After Kieran McKenna’s incredible run to second place in the Championship the previous season, the Tractor Boys are hard at work getting ready for life in the Premier League, and they have plenty of cash to spend.
But now Ipswich has had a high-ball offer for a player Celtic also wants to sign rejected.
Ipswich’s bid for Fotis Ioannidis was turned down.
According to a report from SPORT24 in Greece, Panathinaikos rejected Ipswich’s €25 million (£21 million) offer for Fotis Ioannidis.
It follows reports from Calciomercato that Celtic is eager to sign the Greece international as well.
Following an incredible 2023–24 season in which he made 44 appearances, scored 23 goals, and gave nine assists, Ioannidis has emerged as a target for both the Tractor Boys and the Hoops.
SPORT24 believes that Panathinaikos has turned down the £21 million deal, having already turned down an initial €22.5 million (£19 million) offer from Ipswich. Since then, the Greek behemoths have informed Ipswich, Sporting CP, Bologna, Lazio, and Girona that Ioannidis would not be going anywhere this summer.
With the Premier League’s financial clout, Suffolk is in a position to make a stronger offer for Ioannidis and entice Panathinaikos, but Celtic is most likely out of the running in this transfer drama.
Odsonne Edouard, who Celtic acquired from PSG for £9 million in June 2018, is now the club record signing, therefore a transfer worth more than £20 million does not seem likely for the Bhoys this summer. That might mean Brendan Rodgers has no money left over to support other parts of the team, but it would also mean a big financial commitment from those in the Celtic Park boardroom.