Keeping Ivan Toney is worth £12.5million to Peterborough insists Barry Fry as Celtic's initial bid for the striker was rejected.
Posh chief Fry revealed the English club swiftly turned down a bid from the Parkhead side believed to be £5million, according to the the Daily Record.
Fry expects Celtic to come back in for the forward, but says they will need to vastly improve their offer if they want to land the 24-year-old.
Peterborough claim Toney, who has also been linked with Rangers, is worth £12.5m to the League One side if they can reach the English Championship next season.
Fry told the Daily Mail: "We received a bid for Ivan from Celtic and we turned them down flat.
"What's it going to take to get him? It will take a lot more than Celtic offered. It's their first bid, so I don't know, they might come back.'
"I know Celtic are after another striker down here as well, but if we keep Toney and get to the Championship that's worth £12.5m to us. I've told the lad that."
Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony reiterated Fry's stance and warned Celtic shouldn't 'take the mickey' after their low-ball offer.
He told the Hard Truth podcast: “We have a player everyone in the country wants. Where he will go I have no idea, but in time he’ll probably become a multi-millionaire.
“We have big clubs in the Premier League and the Championship after him and we have some up and coming clubs in the mix as well.
“Some of the figures I’m reading in the press though are insulting. I don’t know where those figures come from. They are nonsense. Journalists maybe, agents possibly or maybe clubs who are trying to buy Ivan leak it out themselves.
“I would ask that no-one tries to take the mickey out of us. You have to know who you are dealing with. This is not my first rodeo. I know how to operate.
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“I am transparent in my negotiations. We have a fee in mind for Ivan and when a club reaches that number they can talk to him.
“And I won’t renege on a deal. If someone offers more than a fee I’d already agreed with a different club I would accept that offer also, but let the player decide where he wants to go.
“We agreed a fee for a player a couple of seasons ago, but the selling club pulled out of the deal because they received a bigger offer from a different club. That’s wrong and I’d never pull out of a deal like that.
“It’s difficult to get the fee you want when there’s only one club interested, but it becomes a lot easier when there are multiple clubs after him.
“Good strikers are like dinosaurs. They are an endangered species.”
But Celtic fans have laughed off MacAnthony's and Fry's comments and think they are valuing their prized asset far too high.
@DBestseventy2 said: "Can't be bothered with this nonsense, move on."
@ConorM67_ tweeted: "Ajeti it is then."
@robbo2784 added: "Aye nae bother will cost more than Edouard for a guy playing in the equivalent of the Scottish Championship... next please."
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@ParkheadWolfe said: "Lucky if Celtic spend that on every player put together this season."
@ChrisSteel20 tweeted: "Barry I think you need some help, £12.5m for a League One player."
@TheNotoriousCSC added: "Dont understand why we waste our time pursuing targets who play in the English leagues. Somebody down there will come in and pay that for him without batting an eyelid. Surely Lawwell etc. know the way it works down there by now? Wasting our time."
