Celtic insist they will "move on" if David Turnbull decides against signing as the club confirmed they couldn't agree a deal with the player’s agent.
Record Sport exclusively revealed earlier on Friday that Turnbull's representatives had been touting the midfielder around England to try to get a move south.
And now Celtic have released a statement to say that Turnbull received a "fantastic offer" but no deal could be reached with his agent.
In a statement they said: "Celtic FC was pleased to agree a record-breaking fee with Motherwell FC for David Turnbull and we have quickly followed this up with a fantastic offer to the player through his agent.
"Currently, we have been unable to come to an agreement with the player's agent. Celtic FC is content that it has made a magnificent offer and it is now up to the agent and player to decide if the player wants to join Celtic. If not, we move on."
It is understood Motherwell have not yet received a bid to match Celtic’s £3m on offer – with £250,000 in add-ons – and the Hoops are not prepared to budge.
Celts were left smarting last season when John McGinn opted to sign for Aston Villa after the champions matched their £2.5m bid but sources at the club insist the circumstances are completely different regarding Turnbull.
Motherwell have already lost Jake Hastie to Rangers this season, as well as former club captain Carl McHugh who moved to India.
