A NEW stadium for Celtic is one of the possibilities which have been

raised in preliminary discussions about how to regenerate further the

East End of Glasgow, it was claimed last night.

Mr Paul Green, a key figure in the consortium which owns the Parkhead

Forge project, said the idea was raised in a discussion with one of the

club's directors at a meeting in May. The question of other leisure

facilities was also discussed.

In a statement issued through his solicitors Mr Green said: ''At

present no firm proposals have been put forward and the only discussion

to have taken place was solely of an exploratory nature.'' He did not

name the director.

He went on to express the hope that further meetings would take place

between them to discuss ways in which they could work together to

promote the further development of Parkhead, by providing for Celtic ''a

stadium of the highest calibre which reflects their status as one of the

leading football clubs in the world.''

Mr Green's main purpose in issuing the statement was to deny a

newspaper report published last week which claimed that he had made a

#6m offer to buy Celtic. He said neither he, his partner, nor anyone

acting on their behalf, had made any offer to buy the club.

A senior director of Celtic, Mr Jimmy Farrell, said: ''All I know is

that Mr Paul Green and Celtic Football Club are interested in the

development of the whole of the East End area. There is a common

interest there but beyond that there is nothing.''