Celtic have Balazs Toth bid rejected, asking price revealed - journalist
Celtic have reportedly seen a £2.5million bid to sign Balazs Toth rejected by Blackburn as they hold out for an offer worth £4m.
Journalist Alan Nixon has claimed, via Patreon, that Celtic have firmed up their long-term interest in Toth with an opening offer for his services.
Blackburn have rejected the bid as they believe he is worth more, even though the Hungarian is not set to play in their Tuesday night clash against Lincoln City.
The same report states that he will sit out of the game after becoming unhappy in training over the last few days, having also turned down several new contract offers with his current deal set to expire next summer.
Celtic will have to return with another bid closer to Rovers' £4m valuation if they want to add Toth to Martin O'Neill's goalkeeping ranks this summer.
They need to act fast to land the 28-year-old, with other clubs also keen on a deal and English football's transfer deadline approaching quickly.
Celtic keen on Balazs Toth but must improve on low first offer
O'Neill is looking to add another stopper to his squad before the close of the Scottish summer window at 5pm on Thursday, 3 September.
Kasper Schmeichel's injury saw Viljami Sinisalo step in as the Hoops' new number one in the second half of last season, and he has remained in the role after the Dane announced his retirement from playing.
Ross Doohan is his current back-up as it stands, but is yet to ever feature in a competitive first-team game for Celtic at 28-years-old.
Numerous keepers have been linked to the club in recent months, with sources exclusively revealing to Football Insider earlier in August that Toth wants to join Celtic.
He looks to be their top target now that an offer has reportedly been submitted, but Parkhead chiefs will need to improve their offer to land the Hungarian international in the next 24 hours.
Martin O'Neill has already confirmed that he wants a new goalkeeper
Sinisalo has rarely put a foot wrong since becoming the Hoops' main keeper, but O'Neill clearly feels like an upgrade is needed.
The Celtic manager has stated on several occasions this summer that he wants the club to bolster their goalkeeping ranks, likely with a new number one.
Speaking to reporters on the situation two weeks ago, he said: "Goalkeeper is something we will be looking at, absolutely. We have the two lads at this minute. We have the younger boys who with the best will in the world would not be ready yet.”