Ajax chief scout Hans van der Zee revealed Celtic beat the Dutch giants to land defender Gustaf Lagerbielke.
But he reckons the Twente Enschede loan star is finished at Parkhead.
Swedish stopper Lagerbielke has been a revelation for Twente this season and was named in this week's Eredivisie Team of the Week.
He's on loan from Celtic and although Twente want to make the move permanent, they fear they will be priced out of the move because they didn't include a clause in the deal to fix a transfer fee.
And former Ajax talent spotter van der Zee isn't surprised at the success of 24-year-old Lagerbielke.
He said: "I thought Lagerbielke was a positive influence for Twente again and played well.
"When I was at Ajax, I also had him in mind for the club and suggested buying him when he was still playing for Elfsborg. But he went to Celtic for 3.5 million euros instead.
"He didn't do well at Celtic, otherwise they wouldn't have loaned him out - they would have kept him."
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And former Dutch World Cup winner and ex-Southampton and PSV Eindhoven manager Jan Poortvliet has been hugely impressed by the Hoops player too.
He said: "Gustaf Lagerbielke immediately caught my eye at Twente.
"He plays very relaxed, has qualities of building from the back and is defensively strong, where he is well positioned.
"He is quite tall, but also quite athletic and comfortable on the ball."
