Celtic suffer Gvidas Gineitis transfer blow as Torino talks collapse

Celtic’s hopes of signing Gvidas Gineitis have reportedly come to an end, with an agreement with Torino now considered highly unlikely.

The Lithuanian midfielder had been under consideration at Celtic for much of the summer, with manager Martin O’Neill viewing him as an important potential addition to his plans for rebuilding the midfield.

However, the Glasgow club failed to make sufficient progress in their attempts to secure the deal. No agreement was reached with Gineitis over personal terms, while negotiations between Celtic and Torino did not advance to a stage where a transfer could realistically be completed.

Gineitis had been regarded as an attractive option because of his energy, technical ability and potential to develop further. The 22-year-old had also already featured for Torino this season, making it increasingly difficult for the Serie A side to consider letting him leave without a proposal that suited their requirements.

The collapse of the move is likely to add further scrutiny to Celtic’s recruitment strategy, particularly after several pieces of summer business remained unresolved until late in the transfer window.

O’Neill is also understood to have been frustrated by the timing of Celtic’s recruitment. The manager reportedly believes his side could have secured Champions League football had some of the new arrivals been brought in earlier, particularly during the qualifying campaign.

While Celtic have subsequently strengthened their squad, the delay in completing key deals has remained a source of concern.

Gineitis now appears set to stay in Italy, despite being a player O’Neill was keen to add to his midfield. Celtic had an opportunity to push the transfer forward but ultimately failed to get close enough to an agreement when it mattered.

For O’Neill, the collapse represents another setback in his efforts to reshape the Celtic squad, while Gineitis looks increasingly likely to continue his development with Torino.