Celtic Told That Watford's Shittu Is Not For Sale

By Tony Quinn

Watford chairman Graham Simpson has warned Celtic that star defender Danny Shittu is not for sale.

The big centre-back has won admiring glances from the EPL for his performances but Watford have insisted they would not welcome any offers for the Nigeria international.

"We have had inquiries from Premier League clubs but no offers for Danny," Simpson said. "Danny is still with us and that's the way it is staying."

After claiming last week that he wanted to stay at Celtic, it seems that Georgios Samaras is keeping his options open.

He has been on loan at Celtic from Man City since January, but now City want to cash in before his contract runs out, and Celtic were favorites to keep him.

But Hull's coach Phil Brown is now trying to lure him on a year loan, but it is likely that City will require a cash deal only.

The other club that has shown an interest is Lazio from Serie A.

Their president Claudio Lotito told reporters: "Samaras is a player we're considering and we'll see what happens."

Razvan Rat, the Romania international left-back, has expressed an interest in joining Celtic, but says he has not had any contact from the club regarding a transfer.

Gordon Strachan is familiar with the Shakhtar Donetsk defender after his performances at Euro 2008 as well as Rat's displays for his club in the Champions League against Celtic.

Sunderland, Newcastle and Serie A sides Lazio and Bologna are reported to be interested in the £4m-rated defender, but Celtic are keen to secure a left-back, with Lee Naylor said to be on his way out of the club.

The 27-year-old Rat, who has been capped 51 times by Romania, said: "Celtic are a great club and, if they were to make me an offer, I would certainly be very interested. I have played at Celtic twice with Shakhtar and, I have to say, I have never experienced anything like it."

Fellow Romanian, Gabriel Tamas, is reportedly a target for the Bhoys. Impressive at Euro 2008, the centre-half joins international colleague Razvan Rat in being linked with the Scottish champions.

He currently plays for Auxerre but wants to cash in with a big move this summer. George Boateng is more likely to stay in the EPL than join Celtic: "Two English clubs have been in touch with Middlesbrough about George, but that's it," said the midfielder's agent Barry Silkman. "So far there has been no contact from Celtic.

That's not to say Celtic won't come in. But right now there has been no approach." Hull City are extremely keen to land the 32-year-old.

Burnley manager Owen Coyle claims he has yet to table an offer for Derek Riordan - and admits he could look elsewhere to bolster his squad ahead of the new season. Coyle is a huge admirer of the Celtic forward and has been linked with a summer swoop.

Coyle insists no contact has been made with the Bhoys for Riordan, who has made just 36 appearances since signing from Hibernian in 2006.

Said Coyle. "There has been no dialogue regarding what the fee would be for Derek Riordan. We are known to be admirers of him but I want my players at Burnley and I want them now.

"It might very well be that, if there is a deal to be done with any player, then we move on. If you go after a target and you can't get him, you have to move quickly somewhere else and that's the way we operate."

Four of Celtic's pre-season friendlies will be screened live on Setanta Sports over the next month.

The champions will begin their preparations for the new season against Southampton on Friday week (July 18th) in a testimonial for Claus Lundekvam.

That game will be shown live on Setanta, as will Celtic's meetings with Middlesbrough, Cardiff City and Man City.

The Bhoys kick off the defense of their SPL crown against St Mirren on August 10th.

Media reports that Celtic are closely monitoring Roma's Portuguese full-back Vitorino Antunes have gone down well with the 21-year-old.

According to Antunes' agent, Celtic, Chievo and Bologna have all expressed interest in the player, who apparently fancies the possibility of joining the Bhoys on a loan basis.

"My agent has made me aware Celtic are interested in taking me to Scotland and that's an exciting prospect," Antunes said. "I don't know any of their players at the moment but I do know they're a great club and in Scotland they're champions nearly all of the time."

Former Celtic defender Adam Virgo has fired a parting shot at Gordon Strachan as he says The Bhoys boss wrecked his dream move to the club.

Virgo returned to Brighton last week having made only 10 appearances for the SPL champions, and although injury restricted his Celtic career, Virgo reckons he was overlooked by Strachan.

"I was signed as a center-half but I only played that position a couple of times," Virgo said. "I was asked to play right-back and center-forward. I was shipped from pillar to post and I accepted it for the sake of the team. I never felt I was given a fair crack.

"Look at other players. Mo Camara was given 13 games before he was left out of the team, while Kenny Miller played about 17 games before he got his first goal. If I had been given games in the center of defense and hadn't been good enough I would have accepted that, but I was never given a chance."