The Tractor Boys have just seen £21m bid rejected for Celtic target

The Tractor Boys are gearing up for their debut in the Premier League following an impressive second-place finish in the Championship last season under Kieran McKenna’s leadership.

With funds available for transfers, Ipswich has made a substantial offer for a player Celtic is also interested in. Specifically, they have had a €25m (£21m) bid turned down by Panathinaikos for Fotis Ioannidis, as reported by SPORT24 in Greece.

It comes after Calciomercato claimed that Celtic are also keen to sign the Greece international.

Ioannidis has attracted interest from both Ipswich and Celtic following an outstanding 2023/24 season, where he recorded 23 goals and nine assists in 44 matches.

Panathinaikos turned down a £21m bid, which was an increase from Ipswich’s initial offer of €22.5m (£19m).

The Greek club has informed Ipswich, as well as other clubs like Sporting CP, Bologna, Lazio, and Girona, that Ioannidis is not available for transfer this summer.

Celtic surely out of the race
With the financial backing of the Premier League, Ipswich can potentially submit an enhanced offer for Ioannidis, aiming to entice Panathinaikos. However, it seems unlikely that Celtic will be able to compete in this transfer saga.

Celtic’s largest signing to date is the £9m acquisition of Odsonne Edouard from PSG in June 2018, making a deal exceeding £20m unfeasible for them this summer.

Acquiring Ioannidis would indeed necessitate a substantial financial commitment from Celtic Park’s boardroom, potentially leaving Brendan Rodgers with limited funds to strengthen other squad areas.

Consequently, Celtic is likely to withdraw from this transfer battle, especially after Ipswich raised the bidding to £21m and still faced rejection.