• Ledley available for free after his Cardiff contract ended
• Bullard loan deal scuppered by his financial demands on Hull
Celtic have confirmed the signing of Joe Ledley on a four-year deal from Cardiff City, but their proposed loan move for Hull City’s Jimmy Bullard appears to be dead after he failed to reach a financial agreement with his employers.
Ledley’s contract at Cardiff had expired after the end of last season, and he had been linked with a number of Premier League clubs including West Bromwich Albion, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. Ledley is Neil Lennon’s third signing of the summer following the arrival of the full-backs Charlie Mulgrew and Cha Du-ri.
“Celtic is a massive club. I’m looking forward to the season and working with Neil and his coaching staff,” he told Celtic’s online Channel 67. “I want to come here and win trophies. This is a great club and I’m looking forward to playing in front of a Celtic’s great fans every week. This is the right time to leave Cardiff and look at my career. Hopefully we can win the league and cups and it gives me the opportunity to play in Europe too.”
Cardiff would have expected upwards of £2m compensation if Ledley had signed for another team in the English leagues but Fifa’s cross-border transfer rules mean he is able to move to Celtic for free. It is believed Celtic delayed confirmation of his signing until after the World Cup final to ensure Cardiff were unable to claim so-called training compensation, which is due if a player aged under 24 leaves a club during the season.
“We really are delighted to welcome Joe to Celtic,” said Celtic’s manager Neil Lennon. “Clearly, there were a number of clubs very interested in signing him so we are very pleased he has chosen to come to Celtic, somewhere I think he can be a tremendous success.”
Celtic’s chief executive, Peter Lawwell, added: “We are pleased to have beaten off competition from a number of English Premier League clubs for his signature and we are sure he will be a great addition to our squad.”
Lennon had hoped to make Bullard his fourth acquisition and the midfielder, who has two years left on his lucrative contract at Hull, has made several visits to Celtic’s Lennoxtown training complex.
“The deal is off as far as we are concerned – because of absolutely ridiculous financial demands being made by the player,” Hull’s head of football operations, Adam Pearson, told the Daily Mail. “We have bent over backwards to try to make this happen and four weeks ago there was an agreement with Celtic in place over a one-year loan.
“But now it seems Jimmy wants extra cash on top as well and he has jeopardised the chance to play for a great club. He has had four weeks to make up his mind and has strung people along, frankly.”
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