Celtic lost out on signing a '£15 million player' according to Sporting Lisbon boss Rui Borges, as he hailed the signing of Georgian international Giorgi Kochorashvili.
The Hoops reportedly made a late bid to try and hijack the £5 million signing of Kochorashvili for next season by the Portuguese giants.
Sporting had to announce the deal outside the transfer window as part of an agreement with the player's club Levante, who have financial problems.
And Sporting boss Borges revealed they attempted to sign the midfielder in January... only to be told he would cost £15 million then.
He said: "We had already observed him on many occasions. He's a player who reflects what we identified as a coaching team.
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"He is a competitive player, he has goals in his game, technical quality and will add a lot to the squad.
"Over the weekend, it became clear we had the opportunity to bring forward this purchase
"In January, we would have probably paid £15 million for Gio. We tried, but it wasn't possible.
"Now it is and we are delighted to sign him."
