Celtic target Aissa Laidouni has slammed the door shut on any possible move to Parkhead...because he wants to play in Europe this season.
The Tunisian midfielder impressed during the World Cup and the Hoops have been credited with being the leading pursuers of the 26-year-old, who plays for Ferencvaros
The Hungarian club's chief executive Pal Orosz revealed last month that they would not be willing to let Laidouni go for less than 10 million Euros, around £8.7 million.
Ferencvaros are on their winter training camp in Spain and have a Europa League campaign to look forward to, having topped their group ahead of Monaco, Trabzonspor and Red Star Belgrade. They are also eight points clear with two games in hand on top of the Hungarian League.
And Laisouni has now confirmed he has no intention of leaving the Budapest club this month.
He said: "I feel good at this club. I have a great relationship with my teammates. We are so close it is like we are all brothers.
"The only thing I am thinking about with regard to my future is the Round of 16 at the Europa League with this club.
"It would be huge for us if we were to advance to the next round.
"For now, it's important we work hard at the training camp so we can return and try to maintain our lead at the top of the league.
"I won't be going anywhere. We are a good team with great players, I believe we can achieve more good results this season in both competitions."
Meanwhile, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will use the pain of their most recent Hampden visit to fire his team up for Saturday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final against Kilmarnock.
Postecoglou’s side saw their treble chances disappear when they suffered an extra-time defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Cup last four in April.
The former Australia head coach expects an added tension around Saturday’s contest given the enormity of the occasion but he believes his players can learn from past experiences.
“The nature of a semi-final means there is always going to be a bit of nervousness, even for the most senior of campaigners, because they know what’s at stake,” he said.
“Losing a semi-final is not just going out of a cup competition, you are a step away from a final, which is a big occasion.
“Guys who have felt that pain, and we certainly did in the (Scottish) FA Cup last year, you know what that feels like and you don’t want to feel that again.
“I think you can use it as fuel because you can’t just dismiss these things and put them to one side.
“A lot of sport is about how you overcome challenges and things that haven’t worked out in the past, and how you address that and not ignore it.
“Obviously losing the semi-final last year wasn’t an enjoyable experience.
“You have to understand there’s a finality to it. There is almost no point in analysing cup games you lose because you’re out. There is nothing to improve. In the league, you can drop a game or have a poor performance and have a chance to rectify it the week after. Well, with cup competitions that’s not how it is.
“But the players are prepared for that, they love that challenge. They are looking forward to going out there and testing themselves in that environment.”
