Desailly now cup-tied

Marcel Desailly will not feature in the Champions League even if he does choose to sign for Celtic.

The former France defender has been linked with the Scottish champions but the move failed to materialise before yesterday’s 11am deadline.

Desailly was released by Chelsea soon after the arrival of new manager Jose Mourinho and remains a free agent, meaning he is free to sign for Celtic at any time regardless of the transfer window closing. But Martin O‘Neill‘s failure to secure a defender ahead of a gruelling Champions League campaign - which sees them face Barcelona, AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk - will be a huge disappointment for the Celtic boss.