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Celtic dealt major blow in pursuit of international winger - report
By Matt Farr
Celtic appear to have missed out on the chance to sign Portland Timbers’ hotshot Darlington Nagbe – according to a report.
The Daily Record claim that Brendan Rodgers’ pursuit of one of his primary January transfer targets has fallen short, and that he will be forced into looking elsewhere for winter reinforcements.
Former USA international Taylor Twellman, now an analyst for ESPN, confirmed on Twitter that Portland had withdrawn from the deal for numerous reasons, contrary to earlier reports suggesting Celtic had pulled the plug.
Confirming this morning @Timbers rejected Nagbe deal from @celticfc for multiple reasons. #MLS
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) December 27, 2016
Nagbe, 26, has contributed one goal and five assists from 27 games in the MLS this season, and Rodgers saw him as a valuable addition to his squad.
Brendan Rodgers was prepared to offer Nagbe a £10,000 per week deal according to the Record, and had already made attempts to make Nagbe feel welcome at the club.
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The midfielder visited Parkhead for Celtic’s Champions League meeting with Barcelona last month, amid negotiations to agree a deal.
The US international has 1o caps for the USA side to date, scoring one goal, but looks as though he will remain in America for the forseeable future after his move to the Scottish champions has fallen through.
In other Celtic news, Brendan Rodgers has named this Celtic player as the perfect role model.