James said no to Celtic because of family, not money, says Lennon

Published on Friday 30 July 2010 21:49

NEIL LENNON missed out on another high profile transfer target yesterday when England goalkeeper David James turned his back on a possible move to Celtic and signed a one-year contract with Bristol City.

• David James chose Bristol City

The 39-year-old had been courted by Lennon who is keen to recruit an adequate replacement for Artur Boruc who was sold to Fiorentina for 1.7 million earlier this month.

But the SPL appears to have proved a hard sell once more for the Celtic manager as he attempts to add major names to his radically reshaped squad.

Earlier this week, Lennon's pursuit of former England defender Sol Campbell also reached an unsuccessful conclusion when the 35-year-old chose to join Newcastle United instead.

Although disappointed at James' decision to move to the second tier of English football in preference to the top flight in Scotland, Lennon insisted Celtic had not lost out because of financial reasons.

"I think it is more to do with the family reasons and being sort of closer to home, so that's why he chose Bristol City," said Lennon. "It's a genuine personal reason. It's nothing to do with money. I spoke to his personal representatives today. We wished them good luck with that.

"He would have been ideal for us in terms of experience, presence and charisma. He ticks all the boxes there. It's one of those unfortunate things in football."

James confirmed that a desire not to uproot his family from the south of England had influenced his decision, although the former Portsmouth player made no specific reference to Celtic's interest in him. "I've had offers to stay in the Premier League but it is more important that I play football, which I love, for the right club and be a family man," said James.

"I had a long conversation with the (Bristol City] chairman Steve Lansdown yesterday and I liked what he said about the club and his ambition. I know all about the plans for a new stadium and desire to win promotion to the Premier League. The club is ambitious and that's what I am. The south west has not had a club in the Premier League and that needs to change."

Lukasz Zaluska is Celtic's senior goalkeeper following the departure of his Polish compatriot Boruc and played in Wednesday night's 3-0 Champions League third qualifying round, first leg defeat against Braga in Portugal. The untested American Dominic Cervi was on the bench. Both are likely to get game time in London this weekend as Celtic take part in the Emirates Cup with matches against Lyon today and Arsenal tomorrow.

Lennon has challenged Zaluska to earn his trust as permanent first choice but made it clear his search for another goalkeeper will continue.

"Lukasz is number one at the minute," said Lennon. "He needs to persuade me that he can be number one consistently. I'm looking for someone to come in and challenge Lukasz. We've only got one sort of consistent goalkeeper in Lukasz. We need two quality goalkeepers. We lost a superb goalkeeper in Boruc so it's imperative that we replace him and the quicker the better."

German international goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand has emerged as a potential target for Lennon. The 31-year-old former Stuttgart and Valencia No 1 is a free agent after leaving Hoffenheim at the end of last season and claims Celtic want to sign him.

"The interest of Celtic in my services is a fact," said Hildebrand. "This is flattering to me, it is an ambitious club. I am preparing myself with regular individual training I would be ready to take the challenge of playing for that club."

Lennon, however, claimed he was unaware of any contact between Celtic and Hildebrand, stating: "There have been no talks as far as I'm concerned."