Celtic are ready to resist any attempt by Feyenoord to try and bring Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink back to the Netherlands, even if they are offered £5 million for the striker. The Scottish champions will tell the Dutch club, who revealed their interest yesterday, that the Holland player is staying at Celtic Park.

Gordon Strachan, the Celtic manager, wants to keep the man whose 20 goals helped to deliver the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title 11 days ago and is not interested in making a profit on the player he signed from PSV Eindhoven in August 2006 for £3.4 million.

Vennegoor of Hesselink is currently with his national squad as Holland prepare for the Euro 2008 finals, where they open their campaign against Italy next Monday. The tall forward has been targeted by Gertjan Verbeek, the new Feyenoord coach, as the ideal player to lift a club that finished a disappointing sixth in the Dutch league last season as they prepare to celebrate their centenary season.

The Dutchman’s agents have rejected tentative inquiries from Feyenoord but the Rotterdam club’s technical director, Peter Bosz, has admitted he is considering testing the resolve of Celtic over the 29-year-old. “There are a number of options in which we would like to investigate whether we could get him [Vennegoor of Hesselink],” Bosz told Algemeen Dagblad, the Dutch newspaper. “Whether we could get him or not is difficult to say.”

Ironically, Vennegoor of Hesselink was in Rotterdam on Sunday, when he came off the bench in Holland’s 2-0 friendly win over Wales, before Marco van Basten and his players departed for their training camp in Switzerland. However, he has given the impression of a man who is clearly happy with his life at Celtic.

He told the club website that scoring the goal that was crucial in helping Celtic win the title was priceless. “This title was unique because of the manner in which we achieved it, by fighting back in the final weeks,” he said. “We knew that if we lost or drew, then it would have been all over. The goal against Rangers in April in the last minute was really special and even now people are still talking to me about it. They come up to me in the street, in the shops and at the club. For the fans, that goal was priceless. Celtic is far more than a football club. The traditions, the history, the warmth – you have to experience it every day to really understand this.”

Ironically, the new Feyenoord coach has also crossed paths with another striker from Celtic’s title-win-ning side who is attracting interest ahead of of Euro 2008. Verbeek was the man who sold Georgios Samaras from Heerenveen to Manchester City for £6 million in 2006 and could revive that relationship if he fails to secure Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Samaras’s future is still unclear. The Greece forward’s advisers were meeting Manchester City officials yesterday to obtain the confirmation that he can leave the club this summer. Celtic have agreed a £3 million fee with the Barclays Premier League club to turn Samaras’s loan move into a per-manant deal. Werder Bremen, of Germany, are among a number of sides in pursuit of the 23-year-old striker.

Celtic remain in pole position, having negotiated first option as part of the loan agreement that saw the Greek net six valuable goals in the title quest. However, Samaras failed to claim a starting place ahead of Scott McDonald and Vennegoor of Hesselink. He wants a guarantee from his next club that he has a starting place and that factor – plus £1.25 million per season in wages for a back-up striker – could see the deal dissolve.

Celtic have also been linked with two other players who will be at Euro 2008. Piotr Trochowski, the Germany midfield player, is keen to quit SV Hamburg and come to Britain, while Jerko Leko, of Croatia, is poised to leave AS Monaco in France. Both are defensive midfield players, which would point to Massimo Donati leaving Celtic Park to return to Italy where Sampdoria want to sign him.

Derek Riordan’s departure could be sealed if Gary McAllister, the Leeds United manager, makes a £500,000 offer for the 25-year-old forward who was not even in the first-team squad at the end of last season.