Frosinone president Maurizio Stirpe has revealed he wanted to sell Celtic target Fares Ghedjemis during the summer transfer window – but was overruled by the club’s new owners.
The 24-year-old winger attracted interest from both sides of the Glasgow divide after scoring 15 league goals last season to help fire Frosinone back into Serie A.
Celtic were linked with the Algeria international as Martin O’Neill looked to strengthen his attacking options, while Rangers and Ligue 1 giants Monaco were also credited with an interest.
Ghedjemis reportedly refused to play in Frosinone’s opening three matches of the new campaign in an attempt to force through a move.
No transfer materialised before the deadline, however, and the winger returned to action as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Venezia, receiving a warm reception from the home support.
Frosinone were taken over by US firm Clara Vista Investment Partners, who also own Ipswich Town, in July for a reported £36million.
Speaking alongside Clara Vista chief Robert Gold, Stirpe has now admitted he would have sanctioned Ghedjemis’ departure had the decision been his alone.
He said via Daily Record: “If it were up to me, I would have sold him. He stayed because Clara Vista stubbornly made him stay. It’s a relationship that needs to be rebuilt on more solid foundations.
“We can’t afford what happened in recent weeks. It’s unpleasant for someone to refuse to play. Clara Vista is unprejudiced in this regard.
“In the coming weeks, we’d like to return to the team a player who has recovered from an abandonment syndrome at Frosinone that ultimately didn’t materialize.
Making reference to Monaco’s approach for the player, Stirpe continued: “Regarding Ghedjemis, there’s no contradiction between what I think and what Clara Vista thinks. There are some unclear behaviors on the part of the clubs.
“We go to the player first, then the club. I don’t like this. I spoke to the Monaco executives, but they didn’t do what they told us. Their official offers weren’t adequate.
“So there’s no point wasting time. A minimum of gratitude is needed. The affection and love must be mutual, never one-sided. The clubs that approached him were not honest because they reached an agreement with him before speaking to us.
“Ghedjemis’ contractual conditions needed to be reevaluated, and they will be. Renzo Castagnini (Frosinone’s sporting director) has been tasked with managing the agreement with his agent.
“The problem isn’t the agent or the player; it’s the clubs that are following the wrong path to achieve their objective.”
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