Celtic are in a fight to land Liam Scales after English Premier League clubs joined the hunt for the defender.
And Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley has confirmed that the Glasgow giants are not the only club to formally table a bid for the talented 22-year-old.
Celtic were prepared to shell out a fee in the region of €700,000 for Scales but a bidding war could yet break out.
Scales - who is available for tomorrow’s European clash with Teuta and next week’s second-leg in Albania - is under contract until the end of 2022.
Hoops boss Bradley said today: “I know there’s a lot of interest and there has been for quite some time.
“But right now Liam is fully focused on tomorrow and going forward until Stephen McPhail (Sporting Director) and the board tell me otherwise that's the way it will be.
“But there’s a lot of serious interest from the English Premier League and Scotland. We've had a number of managers ring Stephen and myself regarding Liam.
And asked if those clubs have acted on their interest, Bradley said: “Yes. There have been bids put down.
“The board trusted our judgement in signing players on longer deals and that means you can take a stance when teams come in.”
But Bradley is confident that Scales - who was close to joining Bristol Rovers before signing for Rovers at the start of last season - will stay focused in the meantime.
“We've never had any issue with Liam and he's really calm and takes things in his stride and thinks about things,” he continued.
“He makes clear decisions and has good people around him. With Liam, it's pretty straightforward and there's no managing. He had a good grounding at UCD.
“We have to weigh up every option and avenue and work out what's best for the club first of all.
“It's also very important that you're open and honest with the player and his representatives and make the best decision for all.
“But you weigh up everything - how important these European games are, the league in the next month or two.
“But yeah, I fully expect him to be with us (for next week’s second-leg in Albania). I'm well clued in on where it is and who is interested and the timeline on it.”
Bradley admits there is more high-level interest in Scales right now than for any Rovers player in the past.
He added: “Gavin (Bazunu, who joined Manchester City) was crazy at the time with clubs in Italy and every corner of Europe looking for him.
“Graham Burke had a couple and Jack Byrne’s was slightly different as it came towards the end but there was interest from clubs in different parts of Europe and America.
“But in terms of the level with the Premier League and Scotland, it’s probably the most we've had.”
