Second time lucky: Swindon boss Danny Wilson has made a fresh attempt to lure Simon Ferry and Paul Caddis south. Pic: ©SNS Group
Swindon Town have made a second bid for Celtic pair Simon Ferry and Paul Caddis. Robins boss Danny Wilson confirmed on Wednesday morning his club had returned to the table, hoping to convince the SPL side to part company with the two players.
The League One club’s original offer was believed to be in the region of £350,000 for the duo. But Celtic rejected that bid, with Ferry subsequently included in Neil Lennon’s squad for the Champions League qualifier with Braga this week.
Wilson remains hopeful of convincing Celtic to let both players ago, bringing Ferry back to the club after a successful loan spell last season.
“We have put another bid in and we're waiting for a reaction from Celtic,” Wilson told the Swindon Advertiser. “The further it goes down the line the less chance we're going to have. But we're still talking, that's the main thing.
“With a bit of luck there'll be a positive answer by the end of the week. We're trying to formulate something that will be acceptable to Celtic and the sooner we can get the boys in the better. But if we can't get them then we have to move on.
“We can't concentrate on those two all the time, there are other areas we have to look at just in case we are going to fail there.”
Both players found themselves on the squad’s fringes throughout their time with the club, although both tasted action as rare starters in the Hoops’ 2-1 friendly win over Seattle Sounders on Sunday.
Ferry, 22, is already familiar to Robins’ fans after spending the 2009/10 season on loan at the club. Ferry, who failed to make a single appearance for Celtic in his five years on professional terms in Scotland, was a key figure in midfield for Danny Wilson’s side last campaign.
The midfielder scored an own goal in Swindon’s play-off semi-final match against Charlton Athletic but his team went through on penalties, before losing 1-0 to Millwall in the final.
Caddis, also 22, tasted first team action 24 times during his time with Celtic, although 14 of his appearances came from the bench. He had a successful three-month loan spell with Dundee United in 2009, playing 11 times for the Terrors.
Traditionally a right-back, Caddis can also play on the right wing. He has seven caps for Scotland’s under-21 side and is eligible to play with the squad until their participation in the Uefa Under-21 Championship ends.
