Celtic could be about to suffer shattering transfer blow - verdict

Celtic will surely have suffered a fatal blow in their pursuit of Torino's Gvidas Gineitis by failing to qualify for the Champions League proper.

Martin O'Neill's side took a 3-0 lead into the second leg of their play-off tie against LASK on Tuesday night.

Callum McGregor put them 4-0 ahead on aggregate inside 23 minutes, but an almighty comeback from the Austrians saw them take the game to extra-time and ultimately win the tie 5-4 and 5-1 on the night.

Celtic's transfer plans were hinging on their qualification to the UCL league stage, and so have now been thrown into disarray after their nightmare in Linz.

Torino midfielder Gineitis has been linked to the club for several weeks, with the feeling that all parties were waiting to see the outcome of the Hoops' European escapades.

The Serie A club's transfer demands and his likely desire to pursue UCL football will surely end their interest, in a major blow to O'Neill's plans.

Celtic facing Gvidas Gineitis blow after UCL calamity

Gineitis featured 31 times for Torino across league and cup game last season, and has started this campaign well, with an assist against AC Milan on Sunday.

Torino were keen to stand firm against their £10million valuation of his services, yet sources recently exclusively revealed to Football Insider that Gineitis is available for around £8.5m due to their financial issues.

Celtic have received £7.3m for making the Europa League, but missed out on a further £8.5m by failing to progress past LASK into the Champions League.

Their failure to do so will surely mean Parkhead chiefs decide against pursuing a move for Gineitis, likely because they cannot afford to do so and feel like O'Neill's squad is strong enough without UCL football.

He already has adequate depth in midfield without him signed, even if Celtic's current options are lacking quality, and the club have already splashed out over £30m on new signings that have failed to deliver what they desperately wanted.

What has O'Neill said about transfers after Celtic's UCL blow?

Celtic fans will not be encouraged by O'Neill's blunt comments about transfers after their loss on Tuesday.

The 74-year-old admitted that Celtic may not be able to coax the players they wanted to the club in the next week, even though his squad is not where it needs to be, saying: "We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That’s absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway, regardless.

“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.”

In other words, a move for Gineitis is surely dead in the water as they focus on cheaper targets to bolster his squad.