Celtic play down link to £5.5m McFadden

SOURCES at Celtic last night sought to play down claims they had failed in a £5.5m bid for Scotland striker James McFadden.

Birmingham City said they had rejected an offer for the player, with chairman David Gold insisting McFadden is "not for sale".

It was claimed Birmingham turned down £5.5m plus Celtic central defender Bobo Balde, but a source at the Parkhead club was adamant this was not the case. Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has tried previously to bring McFadden to the club, most recently on loan during the January transfer window when he was an Everton player.

But Birmingham manager Alex McLeish's £5m offer plus add-ons was accepted by the Toffees. He was already well versed in McFadden's capabilities from his spell as Scotland manager and he impressed for Blues before suffering a knee injury.

The player is a Celtic fan but pledged his future to Birmingham when it became clear their relegation from the Barclays Premier League was inevitable. McLeish knows keeping the likes of McFadden and Sebastian Larsson is crucial if they are to mount a strong promotion challenge.

Gold said yesterday: "James McFadden is not for sale. We want to keep our best players to help us try to get back to the Premier League as fast as possible."

Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura is ready to risk the wrath of Strachan by playing for Japan today in a World Cup qualifier against Bahrain despite a sore ankle.

Both teams have qualified for the final round of Asian 2010 qualifiers and Nakamura's involvement in Saitama would risk upsetting his Scottish club.

But the 29-year-old, who has been struggling with an injury, wants to play in Japan's final Group Two match.

"The ankle feels better," Nakamura said. "Of course I want to play. We lost to Bahrain away so it's important we beat them at home."

A 1-0 defeat by Bahrain in March had briefly threatened Japan's hopes of reaching the final round of Asian qualifiers and put coach Takeshi Okada's position under pressure.

However, the three-times Asian champions advanced following last weekend's 3-0 win over Thailand in Bangkok, a match Nakamura needed a pain-killing injection to start.

Nakamura has also been suffering with insomnia during a punishing run of four World Cup qualifiers in 20 days.

Meanwhile, Magnus Hedman believes Celtic could face a struggle to keep Artur Boruc this summer following his impressive performances at Euro 2008.

The goalkeeper was in fine form in matches against Germany, Austria and Croatia before Poland crashed out of the tournament. His national team may have finished bottom of their group but Boruc did his own reputation no harm at all after earning rave reviews for his efforts. He was the subject of constant speculation over his future last season and could now find himself targeted by a number of clubs, with AC Milan and Arsenal both believed to be among his admirers.

And, if an offer is tabled that tempts Boruc, 28, to quit the Scottish champions, former Celtic goalkeeper Hedman believes the club may find themselves with no option but to let him go.

"Celtic could find a struggle ahead of them to hold on to him," he said. "He seems like a strong character who speaks his mind and, if Celtic get an offer and he becomes aware that a big club wants him, there is no point trying to keep him because they will lose him mentally. There is only one way if an offer does come on the table – Celtic have to let him go."