Gvidas Gineitis transfer takes major twist after Celtic’s LASK collapse

Celtic’s disastrous Champions League exit could have immediate consequences in the transfer market, with their hopes of signing Gvidas Gineitis reportedly fading.

The Torino midfielder has been firmly on the Parkhead radar this summer as Martin O’Neill looks to add more physicality and quality to his midfield.

Torino have been holding out for around £9million for the 22-year-old Lithuania international, with Celtic previously linked with making a serious move for his signature.

Having already spent around £30m on four additions this summer, it was believed further significant investment could follow if Celtic secured their place in the Champions League league phase.

Tuesday night’s extraordinary collapse against LASK has changed the picture.

Celtic surrendered a four-goal aggregate advantage as the Austrian side scored five times without reply, ending O’Neill’s Champions League hopes and dropping the Hoops into the Europa League.

According to Sportal, the “changed situation” following Celtic’s failure to qualify has now seriously reduced the prospect of Gineitis moving to the Hoops.

That could leave RB Salzburg in pole position to land the midfielder, with Danny Rohl’s side now looking increasingly likely to win the race.

The Celtic manager acknowledged after the defeat that missing out on the Champions League could also make certain targets more difficult to attract.

He said: “I said last week that if you could qualify for the Champions League, there would be players that would want to come on that very basis.

“That’s not going to be the case, but we’ll see.”