Celtic have had a £7 million bid rejected for Ognjen Ugresic, according to a new report.
The club reportedly offered Partizan Belgrade more money than PAOK for the 20-year-old midfielder.
Per Mozzart Sport, they made a late bid for the Serbian player who has been compared to Jude Bellingham and Paul Pogba for his combination of technique, athleticism, and attacking flair.
Ugresic, who has 53 appearances for Partizan, was set for a move to the Greek side. Partizan's president, Rasim Ljajic, revealed that Celtic's offer was about £500,000 more than PAOK’s.
Ljajic said, "It is true that Celtic came forward and offered more than PAOK.
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"That 500,000 euros difference would mean a lot to us, in the situation Partizan is in, because in the current circumstances it is a significant amount of money.
"We gave our word to the people from PAOK and for no moment did we want to damage the fraternal relations between the clubs, which for us is much more important than the profit we would make from the potential transfer of Ugresic to Scotland."
Ugresic was seen at PAOK’s match on Thursday night as he finalises his move. He will join former Celtic left-back Greg Taylor and ex-Everton defender Jonjoe Kenny at the Greek club.
The 6ft 2in midfielder has risen through Partizan’s academy and is a regular first-team player.
His representative has previously praised Ugresic's "exceptional" technique, pace, and vision, and said he is most effective when playing behind the forwards.
