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HARTLEY BELIEVES PRICE ON BORUC'S HEAD SHOWS CELTIC ARE SERIOUS
PAUL HARTLEY reckons Celtic's refusal to back down over keeper Artur Boruc's £15million price tag proves they're now powerful enough to hold onto their leading stars.
Hartley saw his Polish team-mate produce some excellent displays for his country at Euro 2008 and does fear that one of Europe's big names will splash the cash and snatch him away.[>
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However, Italian giants AC Milan insist they're out of the race as long as the Hoops demand such a massive fee while ex-Chelsea manager Avram Grant has admitted he was priced out of the market for the 28-year-old as well.[>
There is always a fear someone will come in to buy Artur because he is top-class and clubs are always looking for that type of keeper
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The Parkhead management are determined to hold onto Boruc after securing him on a bumper new contract last December and Hartley welcomes the fact the finances are strong enough to make sure no-one has to be sold off on the cheap to balance the books.[>
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He said: “There is always a fear someone will come in to buy Artur because he is top-class and clubs are always looking for that type of keeper.[>
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“However, this club doesn't have to sell its top players where it maybe had to in the past.[>
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“That's no longer necessary because of the stability the club has got.[>
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“We've been in the Champions League for the last couple of years and reached the last 16, which has helped with that.[>
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“There has been speculation about Artur, but he signed a new contract with us at the start of the year and I hope he'll remain here because he's been an important player for the team.”[>
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Hartley is desperate to get back into action in tomorrow night's clash with Southampton at St Mary's in Norwegian defender Claus Lundekvam's testimonial.[>
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The 31-year-old Scotland star insists he's fitter than he's ever been and admits he was getting itchy feet to get back to training despite having just a few weeks of a summer break.[>
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He beamed: “I feel I am in the best shape I've ever been in.[>
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“The manager likes his teams to be the fittest in the league and if you look at the number of goals we have scored in the last five or 10 minutes of games, you can see that.[>