Alan D
06 Dec 2005, 03:35 PM
Pearce and Strachan in battle toland star Pienaar
Exclusive By Keith Jackson And Hugh Keevins
CELTIC and Manchester City are leading the chase for Ajax sensation Steven Pienaar.
Record Sport revealed last month that Gordon Strachan had identified the 23-year-old South African as a potential replacement for Stilian Petrov.
Now we can reveal that Strachan and City manager Stuart Pearce have tabled firm contract offers - as Petrov's Parkhead career hangs in the balance.
The Bulgarian playmaker has 18 months to run on his current contract but has been involved in talks with chief executive Peter Lawwell about an improved deal Record Sportunderstands Petrov'scamp have made clear to Lawwell exactly how much it will take to get their client tied upon long-term.
But they are still waiting for Lawwell to get back to them with an answer - even though Strachan has stated publicly that Petrov's extension must be the club's"No.1 priority".
The lack of action has sparked fears that Celtic may not be serious about bumping up his pay packet after all.
Petrov has toldfriends he is perfectly relaxed about the situation as he knows that if Lawwell fails to meet his demands he will have no shortage of lucrative offers from the Premiership andbeyondwhennextmonth's transfer window opens.
Newcastle manager Graeme Souness is already monitoring Petrov's position closely and is likely to lead the bidding IF he is still in the job in the New Year.
Blackburn are also believed to be ready to offer as much as £6million to take Petrov to Ewood Park in the January sales.
And the news that Celtic have now tabled a formal offer for Pienaar, one of the golden boys of Dutch football, makes Petrov's situation even more intriguing Lawwellmight find it hard to resist such a tempting big bucks offer for Petrov when he can land Pienaar on a free transfer or for a token fee next month.
But Celtic will still have to convince the hugely-talented youngster that his future lies in Scotland.
Pienaar had hoped to have as many as 10 offers on the table by now after telling Ajax he will not be signing a new deal to stay on in Amsterdam beyond the end of this season.
Lazio, Arsenal and an un-named Spanish club were expected to be among the bidders but so far only Celtic and City have put their money where their mouths are.
Pienaar's adviser Rob Moore, who flew to Glasgow last month for secret contract talks with Strachan and Lawwell, is still hopeful of receiving more concrete proposals for a player rated one of the hottest properties in Europe.
Moore has yet to report back to Celtic as he stalls for time.
Last night the South African agent refused to comment when tracked downby Record Sport, saying only: "I am not prepared to discuss individual clubs at this stage Ajax are preparing to move Pienaar on in January for a cutprice fee as they know the midfield player could be away on international duty at the African Nations Cup for more than a month.
Pienaar will join the South African squad in the first week of January and, if he leads them all the way to the final, then he will not be able to return to his club until the middle of February.
Celtic would prefer Pienaar to sign a pre-contract agreement and then join Strachan's revolution in the summer as a Bosman capture.
But Lawwell has also made it clear he would be willing to stump up hard cash for a transfer fee to seal the deal next month if such a move is required to beat off rival bidders
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_objectid=16437595%26method=full%26siteid=66633%26headline=celtic%2dslug%2dit%2dout%2dwith%2dpsycho%2dfor%2dajax%2dkid%2d-name_page.html
Exclusive By Keith Jackson And Hugh Keevins
CELTIC and Manchester City are leading the chase for Ajax sensation Steven Pienaar.
Record Sport revealed last month that Gordon Strachan had identified the 23-year-old South African as a potential replacement for Stilian Petrov.
Now we can reveal that Strachan and City manager Stuart Pearce have tabled firm contract offers - as Petrov's Parkhead career hangs in the balance.
The Bulgarian playmaker has 18 months to run on his current contract but has been involved in talks with chief executive Peter Lawwell about an improved deal Record Sportunderstands Petrov'scamp have made clear to Lawwell exactly how much it will take to get their client tied upon long-term.
But they are still waiting for Lawwell to get back to them with an answer - even though Strachan has stated publicly that Petrov's extension must be the club's"No.1 priority".
The lack of action has sparked fears that Celtic may not be serious about bumping up his pay packet after all.
Petrov has toldfriends he is perfectly relaxed about the situation as he knows that if Lawwell fails to meet his demands he will have no shortage of lucrative offers from the Premiership andbeyondwhennextmonth's transfer window opens.
Newcastle manager Graeme Souness is already monitoring Petrov's position closely and is likely to lead the bidding IF he is still in the job in the New Year.
Blackburn are also believed to be ready to offer as much as £6million to take Petrov to Ewood Park in the January sales.
And the news that Celtic have now tabled a formal offer for Pienaar, one of the golden boys of Dutch football, makes Petrov's situation even more intriguing Lawwellmight find it hard to resist such a tempting big bucks offer for Petrov when he can land Pienaar on a free transfer or for a token fee next month.
But Celtic will still have to convince the hugely-talented youngster that his future lies in Scotland.
Pienaar had hoped to have as many as 10 offers on the table by now after telling Ajax he will not be signing a new deal to stay on in Amsterdam beyond the end of this season.
Lazio, Arsenal and an un-named Spanish club were expected to be among the bidders but so far only Celtic and City have put their money where their mouths are.
Pienaar's adviser Rob Moore, who flew to Glasgow last month for secret contract talks with Strachan and Lawwell, is still hopeful of receiving more concrete proposals for a player rated one of the hottest properties in Europe.
Moore has yet to report back to Celtic as he stalls for time.
Last night the South African agent refused to comment when tracked downby Record Sport, saying only: "I am not prepared to discuss individual clubs at this stage Ajax are preparing to move Pienaar on in January for a cutprice fee as they know the midfield player could be away on international duty at the African Nations Cup for more than a month.
Pienaar will join the South African squad in the first week of January and, if he leads them all the way to the final, then he will not be able to return to his club until the middle of February.
Celtic would prefer Pienaar to sign a pre-contract agreement and then join Strachan's revolution in the summer as a Bosman capture.
But Lawwell has also made it clear he would be willing to stump up hard cash for a transfer fee to seal the deal next month if such a move is required to beat off rival bidders
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_objectid=16437595%26method=full%26siteid=66633%26headline=celtic%2dslug%2dit%2dout%2dwith%2dpsycho%2dfor%2dajax%2dkid%2d-name_page.html