Frosinone president Maurizio Stirpe has revealed he was keen to sell Celtic and Rangers target Fares Ghedjemis but was ultimately overruled by the club's new wealthy owners.
The wide man was wanted by both sides of the Old Firm during the summer transfer window after netting 15 league goals last season to help fire I Ciociari back into Serie A.
The Algeria international was also coveted by Ligue 1 giants Monaco and reportedly refused to play in Frosinone's opening three matches of the new campaign in order to force a move elsewhere.
Return to action
Following the closure of the window, the 24-year-old made his return to action as a second half substitute in Sunday's 3-2 home win against Venezia, where he was warmly received by supporters despite his conduct in recent weeks.
Frosinone were taken over by US firm Clara Vista Investment Partners - who also own English Premier League side Ipswich Town - back in July for a reported sum of around £36million.
Stirpe's stance
Stirpe was asked about Ghedjemis' ordeal at a press conference alongside Clara Vista chief Robert Gold and is adamant that the player would have been moved on had it been down to him.
He said: "If it were up to me, I would have sold him. He stayed because Clara Vista stubbornly made him stay. It's a relationship that needs to be rebuilt on more solid foundations."
"We can't afford what happened in recent weeks. It's unpleasant for someone to refuse to play. Clara Vista is unprejudiced in this regard."
"In the coming weeks, we'd like to return to the team a player who has recovered from an abandonment syndrome at Frosinone that ultimately didn't materialize."
Monaco criticism
Making reference to Monaco's approach for the player, Stirpe continued: "Regarding Ghedjemis, there's no contradiction between what I think and what Clara Vista thinks. There are some unclear behaviors on the part of the clubs."
"We go to the player first, then the club. I don't like this. I spoke to the Monaco executives, but they didn't do what they told us. Their official offers weren't adequate."
"So there's no point wasting time. A minimum of gratitude is needed. The affection and love must be mutual, never one-sided. The clubs that approached him were not honest because they reached an agreement with him before speaking to us."
Ghedjemis' contractual conditions needed to be reevaluated, and they will be. Renzo Castagnini (Frosinone's sporting director) has been tasked with managing the agreement with his agent.
"The problem isn't the agent or the player; it's the clubs that are following the wrong path to achieve their objective."
