BLACKBURN Rovers will hold out for a sizeable fee for out-of-favour midfielder Jason McAteer who appears to have set his heart on a move north of the border to Celtic.

The Scottish Premier League champions have been linked with a move for McAteer before.

That interest has never been followed up and Rovers aren't thought to have received any concrete offers for the Republic of Ireland international, who is also believed to be interesting Derby County and Wolves.

But it appears certain that the 30-year-old, no longer part of Graeme Souness's long-term plans, will leave Ewood Park this summer -- provided the price is right. "If we got a good enough offer then he would be free to go," confirmed assistant manager Tony Parkes.

Brian Kidd paid Liverpool £4 million to sign McAteer in January, 1999 and it's likely that Blackburn would be looking to recruit at least half that amount for the former Bolton man.

Money would be no object for Celtic if Martin O'Neill wanted to add McAteer to his squad. And it's a move that would appeal to McAteer, who had previously stated his desire to stay at Ewood Park but is now reported as saying: "My days at Blackburn appear to be over and I would love the opportunity to play in front of a packed Parkhead.

"I played in a Celtic jersey in Ronnie Moran's testimonial and it was an unbelievable experience.

"Alan Stubbs has said great things to me about Celtic and I can't deny being intruiged by what it would be like."

Stubbs and McAteer have continued their friendship from their days together at Bolton, although Stubbs is set to leave Celtic this summer to return to his Merseyside roots with Everton.

ROVERS have pencilled in an extra fixture to their pre-season schedule as part of the £7 million deal that brought striker Corrado Grabbi to Blackburn from Italian club Ternana.

Souness' men will take on the Serie B club at the Libero Liberati Stadium in Ternana on Tuesday, August 7 -- five days before the visit of Spanish giants Barcelona to Ewood Park.