Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton says he anticipates he will be playing for the Scottish champions again next season.

The Israeli international has been the subject of intense transfer speculation over the past week.

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La Liga side Espanyol have confirmed they are interested in the 24-year-old, and it was rumoured earlier this week that the Spanish side had tabled a £6million offer for the player.

But it is believed that no bid has yet been made for the central midfielder and that it would take as much as £10million for him to prised away from Celtic Park.

He told Celtic TV that he is happy with Celtic's pre-season preparations and is focusing on regaining his fitness levels:

"Everything is going well. Pre-season is hard as we get ready for the new season and get over the holidays. It’s always good to be back and train hard for the new campaign. I feel fit, not 100 per cent of course, as it’s only been two weeks and we still have a lot to work on. The training has been hard with a lot of sprints and runs but this is how you get ready for the new season. We are trying to get ready for what the gaffer wants us to do. We have a good group of lads and a lot of banter and we try to stick together so we can have a good togetherness for next season."

In an interview for the Scotsman at the end of last season, Bitton talked more about his future at Celtic.

He believes his style of play would only fit with clubs at the top end of the table, and is happy to stay at Celtic.

Espanyol who, although have new Chinese owners, are a midtable team in La Liga so it would take a lot of persuading for the Israeli to leave Parkhead.

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