🚨Celtic Manager Sends Furious Message To Board HOURS After Late Response

Celtic’s summer transfer window has ended, but the fallout from a frantic final few days is only beginning.

Martin O’Neill’s side ultimately brought in a significant number of new faces, with the club completing a late burst of transfer activity. Yet one deal in particular has left a sour taste around Celtic Park: the failed attempt to land Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis.

The 22-year-old Lithuania international had been one of Celtic’s long-standing midfield targets, and reports now suggest that O’Neill was particularly keen on bringing him to Glasgow. The move, however, collapsed despite Celtic making another late attempt to get the deal over the line. 

And with the Scottish transfer window now closed, questions are inevitably being asked about whether Celtic left their push for the midfielder too late.

O’Neill had already warned Celtic about missing targets

The Gineitis saga did not come completely out of nowhere.

Before the final week of the window, O’Neill had openly acknowledged that Celtic had already missed out on players they considered first-choice targets.

Speaking about the club’s recruitment earlier in the window, the Celtic manager admitted that there had been occasions when deals appeared close before ultimately disappearing.

His message was blunt: Celtic could not afford to simply keep moving further down their list of preferred targets.

That makes the Gineitis situation particularly significant.

O’Neill wanted additions to strengthen his midfield, and Celtic had spent much of the summer attempting to reshape a squad that had lost several important players.

Arne Engels had departed for West Ham in a deal worth around £22 million, while Reo Hatate moved to Burnley for around £9 million. Daizen Maeda also left for Ipswich in a deal reported at around £10 million.

The need for midfield reinforcement was therefore obvious.

Sky Sports’ assessment after the window closed was that Celtic’s starting XI could actually be stronger than last season, but questions remain about the depth and whether the club properly replaced some of its major departures. 

And that is where the Gineitis disappointment becomes difficult to ignore.

The deal Celtic could not get done

Gineitis emerged as a major target for Celtic during the latter stages of the summer.

The Torino midfielder was viewed as a potential answer to the club’s midfield requirements, particularly following the departure of Engels.

Celtic’s interest was not merely a deadline-day flirtation. Reports indicate that discussions had been ongoing for some time.

There was even a period when optimism grew that the Lithuanian could finally make the move to Scotland.

But the breakthrough never came.

According to Sport Witness, Celtic’s final reported offer was around €8 million plus €2 million in bonuses, but Torino considered the proposal insufficient. Another report from CeltsAreHere said an earlier offer of around €6 million plus add-ons had been rejected on August 31. 

That detail is important because it changes the narrative slightly.

This was not simply a case of Torino suddenly refusing to sell.

The Italian club had reportedly been open to discussions, but Celtic ultimately failed to meet the valuation required to take the deal to the next stage.

And by the time the Hoops made their final push, the clock was already running out.

Late response leaves Celtic with questions

This is where the frustration surrounding O’Neill becomes understandable.

The Celtic manager had repeatedly made it clear that he wanted more players.

Even after Celtic’s Europa League registration deadline had passed, O’Neill said he would still want to bring somebody in if the right opportunity presented itself, because players could still contribute domestically.

That showed just how strongly he believed the squad needed further strengthening. 

Celtic eventually completed a remarkable burst of business.

Sam Johnstone arrived on loan from Wolves, Chelsea youngster Shim Mheuka joined, Landon Emenalo came in on loan, Joel van den Berg arrived from PSV Eindhoven, Jordan Lotomba joined from Feyenoord and Oliver Sørensen arrived from Parma.

Those deals took Celtic’s summer arrivals into double figures. 

On paper, that sounds impressive.

But the problem for O’Neill is that quantity does not necessarily solve the specific problem he was trying to address.

Gineitis was reportedly the midfielder he particularly wanted.

And after the deal fell apart, Celtic were left without that additional midfield option.

O’Neill’s frustration with the boardroom

There is currently no verified public statement from O’Neill saying that he literally “erupted” at the Celtic board, so that part of the story should be treated as the dramatic framing of the situation rather than a confirmed direct confrontation.

However, there is evidence that the manager has been frustrated by Celtic’s recruitment process.

Earlier in the summer, meeting notes reported by Sky Sports indicated that O’Neill told supporters that he was in “major need of signings”, while the club’s hierarchy explained that Celtic faced difficulties competing with Premier League and Championship clubs and dealing with agents. 

O’Neill has also publicly acknowledged that Celtic had been close to first-choice players before those moves disappeared.

So, while there may not have been a public dressing-room-style explosion, the broader message is clear:

O’Neill wanted his squad strengthened, and the timing of some of Celtic’s recruitment has frustrated him.

That makes the Gineitis failure particularly painful.

Celtic had the money — but did they move quickly enough?

Another reason supporters are questioning the decision-making is Celtic’s financial position.

Sky Sports reported that Celtic generated around £49.5 million from player sales during the window and spent approximately £36.2 million on strengthening the squad. 

That included a club-record fee of more than £11 million for Kasper Høgh.

So the argument is not necessarily that Celtic refused to spend money.

Instead, the frustration centres on where, when and how that money was spent.

The club made a number of moves late in the window, while the Gineitis negotiations remained unresolved.

By the time the Scottish deadline arrived on Thursday, September 3, there was simply no agreement.

The Scottish Premiership transfer window officially closed at 5pm on September 3, meaning Celtic’s opportunity to make another domestic signing was gone until January. 

The Champions League failure made the timing even more painful

There is another layer to this story.

Celtic’s transfer strategy was already under scrutiny after their Champions League disappointment.

The club invested heavily in trying to improve the squad, but the timing of several arrivals meant some of the new players were not available early enough to help during the crucial European qualifying campaign.

O’Neill himself had previously suggested that getting some of the new recruits earlier could have made a difference.

After Celtic’s eventual European disappointment, the club suddenly found itself competing in the Europa League instead of the Champions League.

That meant the financial consequences were significant.

It also changed the atmosphere surrounding the transfer window.

Suddenly, every incoming player was being judged against the question of whether Celtic had done enough to build a Champions League-calibre squad before the qualifiers.

The Gineitis situation therefore represents more than simply one failed transfer.

For some supporters, it has become a symbol of the wider frustration over Celtic’s recruitment timing.

Could Gineitis still arrive in January?

Interestingly, the story may not be completely finished.

Reports emerging immediately after the window suggest Celtic could return for Gineitis in January.

Sport Witness reported that the midfielder could become a realistic target again during the winter window, particularly because Torino have strengthened their own midfield with the additions of Rolando Mandragora and Daniel Bragança. 

Daily Record reporting has also suggested that Celtic could revisit the player after failing to secure him before the European registration deadline. 

That possibility could give Celtic supporters some hope.

But it could also raise another question:

Why wait until January for a player O’Neill wanted during the summer?

If Gineitis becomes available again, Celtic may have to pay a different price, negotiate under different circumstances and potentially compete with other interested clubs.

The Celtic board now has to prove the window was worth it

Ultimately, Celtic’s transfer window cannot be judged solely by the failure to sign Gineitis.

The club brought in ten new players and invested heavily in the squad. Kasper Høgh and Camilo Durán have already generated optimism, while several of the late arrivals provide O’Neill with greater depth. 

But the timing remains the biggest talking point.

Celtic left some of their most important recruitment until extremely late.

And although the club eventually completed a six-player surge around the deadline, Gineitis was the one deal they could not finish.

The Scottish window is now closed.

There will be no more opportunity to correct that particular mistake until January.

For O’Neill, the challenge is now to get the best out of the players he has rather than dwell on the one who got away.

For the Celtic board, however, the Gineitis collapse provides another uncomfortable question over recruitment strategy.

Was it simply a case of Torino demanding more money than Celtic were prepared to pay?

Or could the deal have been completed if Celtic had moved decisively earlier?

That is the question likely to follow Celtic into the opening months of the season.

And if O’Neill’s midfield begins to struggle with the depth and quality he feared, the Gineitis transfer that got away could become one of the biggest regrets of Celtic’s entire summer window.

For now, the transfer window is closed, the squad is set, and O’Neill has to move forward.

But the message coming out of Celtic Park is unmistakable:

the manager wanted more — and one of his biggest targets is still wearing Torino colours.