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Celtic opt out of Romanian deal
Celtic, 17:33, August 9, 2008 ,
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has decided to end his pursuit of Auxerre's Romanian defender Gabriel Tamas after failing to agree fee.
The international had been hotly tipped to move to Parkhead ahead of the new season but it now appears as if the deal is dead.
The players agent claims personal terms between the Bhoys and Tamas had been agreed but Celtic were unable to come to an agreement with Auxerre over the fee.
Negotiations have been continuing for over a month but it now looks as if Celtic have ended their interest in the 24-year-old centre-half.
Auxerre president Jean-Claude Hamel told the Daily Record: "I'm disappointed we have spent a lot of time negotiating with Celtic for it to end like this, but we move on.
"In football sometimes things like this happen and Celtic have done us the courtesy of officially retracting their interest in signing Gabriel."
This may signal a U-turn in Celtic's stance on defender Bobo Balde who was thought to be on his way out over the summer. If Celtic don't sign another centre-back they will be keen to keep hold of the veteran defender.