Celtic look towards the Premier League as UEFA secretary opens floor to discussions



Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino offered Celtic a chink of light as they bid to burrow a future escape route out of Scottish football into the lucrative market of the English Premier League.

Responding to Fergus McCann’s suggestion that the club should now be permitted to move south of the border, Infantino declared that his organisation is ‘open to discussing everything’.



In Barcelona to see Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell installed on the executive board of the influential European Club Association, Infantino pointed to the three-year experiment currently taking place in women’s football where leading sides from Belgium and Holland play against each other in a newly-formed championship.



Moving on: Former owner Fergus McCann wants to see Celtic compete in the Premier League

Open minded: UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino says he is happy to discuss Celtic's future

And he revealed that major discussions will be held about the potential benefit of higher-profile mergers when the success of that programme has been properly evaluated.



Celtic and Rangers have been lobbying for entry to England for years - and hard on the heels of Neil Lennon insisting he would love to manage the Scottish champions there, McCann has stated they should be allowed entry to an expanded English set-up which would triple their wealth as a business.



Speaking exclusively to Sportsmail at the conclusion of the ECA’s General Meeting, Infantino insisted that UEFA - while currently maintaining their opposition to cross-border leagues at the highest level - are prepared to talk about the possibility of Scotland’s major clubs playing in England in future.



‘I don’t know what will happen and there are other discussions going on in Scotland at the moment about independence in any case,’ said Infantino. ‘One part of the country wants independence and another wants to join England.



‘There is an experiment, a test, going on in the BeNe League in women’s football with Belgium and the Netherlands. This has gone on for a year and we will take a look into that after the second year.

There will be discussions going on with all stakeholders. Football is in constant development and we are open to discussing everything.’

McCann do attitude: Former Celtic chairman Fergus McCann says the club's place is south of the border

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In addition to McCann marking the 20th anniversary of his involvement at Celtic by demanding the club be given a passport couth, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho recently said he would welcome both the Parkhead club and Rangers to England’s top flight.



However, other English clubs have been less than enthusiastic, anxious about the prospect of losing their own place at the lucrative top table.



Despite admitting that UEFA are open to discussing radical changes, Infantino insisted nothing will happen in the short-term.



‘I have only heard of this now and there has been no change in the position of UEFA,’ he said. ‘As matters stand today, this is not a possibility.’

Revolutionary: McCann in 1995 with a model of the new Celtic Park Stand

Meanwhile, Lawwell said only time will tell if his new role at the heart of European football can help Celtic maximise their potential elsewhere.



Insisting no progress has been made in trying to push though an invitation south or even rekindle the idea of a northern European league, he said: ‘There is nothing really happening at the moment on that. We will see if this helps.



‘In the last 15 to 20 years the media values in the big nations have gone beyond anybody’s predictions. That has created a great gap between the top and the bottom. Therefore we need to find ways of closing that gap.



‘I have been at Celtic for over 10 years now and think my own experience of being at a big club in a small market will help as I have seen things from both sides. That is what I hope to bring to the table.’

Rich list: Celtic are continuing to explore alternatives to life in the Scottish Premiership