Celtic receive official transfer update after €4.7m offer

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Cameron Smith | Digital Content Producer

Accredited sports journalist covering football since 2020

Paderborn sporting director Sebastian Lange has confirmed that he has rejected a €4.7 million (£4m) offer from Celtic for midfielder Mika Baur.

The 22-year-old has emerged as a key target for Martin O’Neill’s side in recent weeks and it has been widely reported that personal terms have been finalised with the Germany U21 international.

Current ETV

Mika Baur

M (C)

Paderborn

Mika Baur

M (C)

Paderborn

€2.2M

ETV Range

€1.8M - €2.7M

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However, Paderborn are reluctant to sell the midfielder this summer and Lange has revealed that an initial offer from Celtic has been rejected as they look to avoid relegation following their promotion from the 2. Bundesliga.

Celtic have already completed the signing of Qarabag forward Camilo Duran for €5.5m so far this summer, while they have finalised an agreement to purchase Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Hogh for a club-record fee of €12.9m.

But, the Scottish giants will be required to improve their transfer offer if they want to secure the signing of Baur before the end of Deadline Day.

Celtic receive official Mika Baur transfer update

“It’s nonsense. I have no idea where this stuff comes from. Have there been offers for players during this transfer window? Yes. Are there offers right now? No. Why not? Because we rejected them all. There are sporting and financial reasons for this,” Lange told NW Sport (via The Daily Record).

“Ultimately, we decide what is of interest to us. And everything that came in was, from a financial standpoint, of no interest to us whatsoever.”

When asked about Paderborn’s decision to reject Celtic’s €4.7m bid for Baur, which would've been a club-record sale, he said: “We didn't have to think twice during this transfer window.

“There are a few players (we have received offers for). And that’s nothing unusual. There were even players involved whom you wouldn't expect. Four to five. That includes players from the U21 squad. It’s not as if we have offers for four key players.

“I don’t want to name names, because I don’t want to spoil the market for one or two of them. For SCP, the transfer fee alone isn't the deciding factor anyway; rather, a transfer has to make sense both financially and in sporting terms.

“We have a squad valuation that we calculate internally using a specific formula. There is a sporting value and a financial value.

“The question is: How important is the player to us, and can we actually strengthen the squad? Because only then does it really make sense to let a player go. We want to improve.

“It’s independent of any departures. We want to strengthen the squad either way. And, ideally, keep all the players - or almost all of them.”

Lange added: “We are no longer operating at a loss. We aim to finish the Bundesliga season with a profit, too. We are no longer dependent on transfer revenue like we were in the 2. Bundesliga. We can work with different figures.

“Our job remains to stay calm. But we are certainly noticing right now that the transfer rumour mill is starting to heat up. And that’s only going to increase. We have a long, intense period ahead of us.”