Rubin Kazan captain Filip Uremovic was a Celtic target and the clubs even opened talks, according to the Russian side’s sporting director.
Neil Lennon moved to secure Shane Duffy on a one-year loan from Brighton last week and the Irish international made a telling debut impact with a brilliant headed goal against Ross County.
But Rubin sporting director Oleg Yarovinsky has revealed Celtic were back in again for Croatian international Uremovic, who they were first linked with last summer before they splashed out £7 million to land Christopher Jullien.
He said: "Celtic and CSKA Moscow both came to us and asked about signing Filip.
"We never got as far as discussing the transfer fee, but we were in contact with both clubs.
"I am very confident he is going to be a top defender one day at a very big club and it is important for him to make the right move eventually.
"But for now, Filip is not for sale."
The 23-year-old made his international debut for Croatia earlier this month in a 4-2 loss in Paris in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup Final against France.
