Crepulja says ‘ask Celtic’ when asked about future

Ljuban Crepulja returned to Croatia following a trial at Celtic but isn’t commenting on his future for now.

After impressing scout John Park, Ronny Deila wanted to have a closer look at the midfielder, who trained with the first-team.

The 22-year-old Crepulja currently plays for Slaven Belupo and was linked with a move to Dinamo Zagreb last summer, where he was a former youth player.

He was spotted by Celtic scouts during a 1-1 draw between Rijeka and Slaven on December 13th, where they also scouted Ivan Mocinic.

As quoted by Goal, he spoke about the interest and said:

Celtic scouts came to our match against Rijeka; they were there to see their player Ivan Mocinic, but I spoke to them after the match and stuck around. Then I chased it up.

Crepulja has been capped by his national Under-20 team twice and has made 88 appearances to date for Belupo, scoring three goals and assisting on eight occasions.

With his fellow countryman Jozo Simunovic already at Celtic, Crepulja spoke about his time at the Lennoxtown training facilities.

It is heaven on earth, you really cannot compare it to here. I say, it’s another world. For me it was a fantastic experience to be part of Celtic, even if it was just those five days.

Celtic is a big, well-known European club. Going into the ranks of such greats my career would be great. But, as I say, I am not allowed to reveal the details.

It’s amazing when you feel that you respect the people there, all of whom are quite relaxed. You feel like a real player there. You are only thinking about football.

There’s no big difference in training. And they are doing a lot with the ball like we do in Croatia, a lot of the time is spent on technique and tactics.

His primary position is defensive midfield, but he has also operated in attacking midfield and in the centre of midfield.

With the Croatian out of contract this summer, it is unlikely he will be joining Celtic for any fee or on a free transfer after the trial.

Reports suggested that Celtic were no longer pursuing the Croatian and were instead keen to take Manchester City youngster Patrick Roberts on loan,

Despite this, Crepulja refused to be drawn to speculation about his own future at Slaven Belupo or anywhere else.

I cannot tell any details about my future, I cannot say that. For such information, you would have to ask Celtic.

He did attract interest from several Championship clubs including Fulham and Blackburn last summer, however neither club made a move for the midfielder.