Celtic were tracking Dele Alli before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur, but failed to swoop to take the midfielder to Parkhead.
Spurs snapped Alli up from League One side MK Dons in 2015 and he has kicked on at White Hart Lane, now being regarded as one of the brightest prospects in world football.
But Alli was on Celtic's radar before his Spurs move, Falkirk boss Peter Houston has revealed, though the Scottish giants opted against trying to sign him.
Houston said on BBC Sportsound: "I used to work for a short spell at Celtic, and John Park had a list of players and Dele Alli was on that list.
"Celtic had watched him a couple of times as a youngster just after he’d managed to break through", he explained.
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"I bet they wish they’d signed him!"
Celtic were not the only side to look closely at Alli, with Liverpool trying to take him to Anfield before a proposed deal fell apart, leaving the path clear for Tottenham to snap him up.
Alli netted on 22 occasions for Tottenham this season as Mauricio Pochettino's side finished second in the Premier League, putting in a title challenge for the second successive season.
