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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Aissa Laidouni to Celtic transfer hopes kept alive by honest Ferencvaros president but striker deal hits standstill

Ferencvaros president Gabor Kubatov has confessed Aissa Laidouni will "probably" leave the Hungarian side with Celtic named among the clubs interested in the midfielder.

The midfielder impressed at the World Cup with Tunisia and is now n the radar of clubs across Europe, including the Scottish Premiership leaders as we rapidly approach the January window. A number of French clubs and Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg have been credited with the strongest interest, while Celtic are also reportedly keen as Ange Postecoglou looks to strengthen.

Ferencvaros have set a high asking price for Laidouni with chief executive Pal Orosz claiming it would take £8.7 million for the Hungarian champions to sell their prize asset, but Kubatov appears to have taken a more practical approach to the interest. However, he reckons striker Ryan Mmaee and his brother Samy will remain at the club until the end of the campaign, with the duo failing to make the Morocco squad for Qatar 2022.

Mmaee has previously been on Celtic's radar but has been hampered by injury this term, leading to him missing out on the African nations run to the World Cup semi-final. Kubatov reckons he will remain with the club after failing to land the chance to shine at the tournament.

He told Ulloi ut 129: “Our budget is now the smallest in the Europa League. But we use that money very efficiently.

“I was hoping that, after the World Cup, we would be able to sell the twos Mmaees and Laidouni for a serious amount. We could have made a big purchase out of this.

"We were prepared for that. But I see the two Mmaees staying, while Laidouni will probably be taken.”

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