Celtic manager Neil Lennon admits Victor Wanyama’s proposed transfer to Saints has reached a stand-off but that the move would be a good one for the midfielder.

The Scottish side have accepted a reported £12m bid from Saints for the 21-year-old, but talks with the player and his agents appear to have broken down.

One of Wanyama’s representatives, Ivan Modia, said yesterday that the terms on offer were “way below” the Kenyan international’s expectations.

Modia also said his client would not be “forced into a corner to accept the Southampton deal, just because it is good for Celtic”.

Lennon responded today by saying the club were not trying to force Wanyama to move, but he did add that he felt St Mary’s would be a good fit for the midfielder.

"We accepted a bid from Southampton," said Lennon. "We've done nothing wrong in our eyes, as always, and the ball is firmly in the court of Victor's representatives.

"We’ve dealt with it as professionally as possible. All we did was accept a bid from Southampton, a very good, progressive club.

"Me personally, I think it would be a very good move for Victor in terms of his career going forward, but there seem to be other parties wanting to block the deal.

"These negotiations take a long time. We felt the money was right for us, a good business deal for the club. Whether it resurfaces again, I don't know.

"The fact we've accepted a bid would tell you that we feel that matches our valuation of the player, and if a club does that you look at it. I don't know where we are with it at the minute but there seems to be a bit of a stand-off.”