Izzet’s wages scaring suitors

The Leicester midfielder is once again reported to be the Celtic manager’s No.1 target ahead of the transfer window closing tomorrow, though last night’s injury to Johan Mjallby may have altered his priorities.
O’Neill has admitted he will try until the very last minute to bring in a new face. And his insistence that, if it was to be on more than a loan basis, it would have to be someone he knows all about before he would splash out any cash led many to believe Izzet was firmly in his sights.
However, harsh financial facts seriously undermine the case for Izzet joining Neil Lennon and Steve Guppy in following O’Neill from the Foxes to the Hoops. The Turkish World Cup player still has two years of his £40,000-per-week contract to run, and he would not move for less. Celtic do not pay that much to any of their players, and would not be prepared to set a new top level for the midfielder.Izzet knows the only place he will get these terms is in the Premiership. Last summer he frustrated cash-strapped Leicester by rejecting a £6million move to Middlesbrough, and he is prepared to sit tight until what he reckons is the perfect move – which must match his personal demands – comes along. Leicester, who are still battling to recover from the hammer blow of dropping out of the Premiership and moving to a new ground, see Izzet as a key men in their bid to return to the lucrative top flight in one season.
They currently lie second in the promotion race behind Portsmouth, and they would not be prepared to allow such an influential player to go out on loan, even though they would welcome his removal from their crippling wage bill.