Fiorentina bid £2m for ex-Celtic and Hibs’ Liam Henderson

Fiorentina have made a £2 million bid for former Celtic midfielder Liam Henderson… five months after the Glasgow club sold him to Bari for only £115,000.

The 22-year-old has been a revelation with the Serie B club after he became the first Scot to play in Italy for 32 years.

Bari missed out on promotion to Italy’s top flight and have financial problems, so want to cash in on the former Hibs Scottish Cup-winning hero. Three Serie A clubs have expressed an interest, but Fiorentina have made the first move, with Parma and Bologna also waiting in the wings.

The £2m bid represents a massive increase in value on the paltry fee Bari paid for him in January.

A month after he signed, Bari sporting director, Sean Sogliano, revealed why they were so delighted Celtic let him go on the cheap. He said: “Liam Henderson’s transfer was seven months in the making for us. We ended up signing him for only £115,000. Last year we were told he would cost £1.75 million.

“There were also a number of clubs who wanted to sign him, too, like Preston North End for example.

“The turning point for us was knowing his contract was going to expire at the end of the season and we knew his value would diminish.

“He signed a two-and-a-half year deal and we also have a renewal option. It’s a very good piece of business.”

Henderson won the league and League Cup with Celtic, the Scottish Cup with Hibs and a Norwegian League and Cup double during his loan spell with Rosenborg three years ago.

Now he could be heading to Florence with Stefano Pioli’s club desperate to improve on a disappointing eighth-place finish in Serie A.