Genk have made a £2.25m bid for Celtic target Ismaila Soro, leaving the Hoops in danger of missing out on the midfielder.
The 21-year-old has been watched by Parkhead scouts regularly and Neil Lennon confirmed the club were interested in the Ivorian.
But Genk have made their move first and have lodged a transfer bid with his club, Bnei Yehuda, for the highly-rated youngster.
Genk have struggled to maintain last season's title-winning form and are languishing in eighth position in the Belgian league, with manager Hannes Wolf being promised new recruits this window.
Soro has made 51 appearances for Bnei Yehuda in two years and has yet to score a goal for them. His club vowed last month they wouldn't let him go on the cheap, with French club Dijon also credited with an interest.
Manager Yossi Abukasis said: "We will only sell Soro if we get an offer which matches our valuation.
"We know what he is worth. We know there is growing interest in him and a lot of European clubs have watched him for a long time."
But Celtic now face a fight on their hands to land Soro.
Celtic have history of signing players from the Israeli top flight, with Hatem Abd Elhamed joining last summer.
