Celtic set for painful transfer blow as top Euro side thunder towards midfield signing

Belgian giants Racing Genk have made a bid for Niko Sigur and are pushing to complete a deal, leaving Celtic trailing in a race they once were well placed to win, TEAMtalk understands.

Genk’s offer, standing at around £3.5million, has moved them to the front of the queue for the Hajduk Split midfielder.

The club are understood to be working to get an agreement over the line after Hajduk completed their European preliminary fixtures.

Celtic had held long-term interest in the 22-year-old Canada international and were in talks for much of the summer. The Croatian club, however, refused to sanction a sale until their Conference League play-off against Rakow Częstochowa was finished.

That tie is now out of the way, opening the door for Hajduk to cash in on Sigur, who is contracted until 2028.

Toulouse also entered the market earlier this week with a £2.5million bid, which was rejected.

Hajduk have consistently valued Sigur more highly after his displays at the World Cup, where he impressed for Canada and can operate either as a holding midfielder or at right-back.

Celtic could miss out on Sigur after Champions League collapse

A move to Parkhead now looks unlikely. Celtic’s collapse against LASK, when they threw away a four-goal aggregate lead and lost 5-4 after extra time, ended their Champions League hopes – a key part of the attraction for the player.

The Scottish champions drop into the Europa League, with the financial and sporting picture altered dramatically for the remainder of the window.

Sigur has made clear he wants a step up after a strong international summer.

Linking with Canadian teammate Alistair Johnston at Celtic had been an obvious draw for Sigur, but that prospect has faded as Genk press ahead and other European sides remain in the conversation.

Hajduk are expected to sell. Whether Celtic can recover ground appears doubtful so late in the window, especially after the LASK defeat.

For now, Genk look the club most likely to land a versatile defender-midfielder who has spent three seasons as a regular in Split.

Martin O’Neill will likely have to look elsewhere if they want to strengthen in the middle of the park, though they are running out of time to get deals done.