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The former Wolves defender was impressive for the Hoops last season and, following the poor form of Frank Quedrue following his move from Middlesbrough to Fulham and the return of Niclas Jensen to Denmark, Sanchez has been hunting a left-sided defender.

With Southampton playing hardball over Chris Baird, Sanchez made a £1.5 million bid for Naylor, which he admitted was rejected.

"I made an inquiry to Gordon about Lee Naylor," the former Northern Ireland boss told the Mail. "But that was as far as it got, because Gordon immediately told me that the player wasn't available for transfer.

"That was the end of the matter."

Sanchez also denied that Celtic had made an offer for his versatile German right Moritz Volz, despite the claims of the player's agent.