Had things panned out a different way in January, Erik Sviatchenko might have been in the midst of the current drama at Leicester.

The affable Dane has confirmed that there was interest in him from last season’s English Premier League champions in the final days of the winter transfer window, but that he remains content to bide his time as a work in progress at Celtic.

The magnitude of the UEFA Champions League group stages has not been lost on Sviatchenko while the allure of winning silverware and being remembered for achieving something special this season under Brendan Rodgers holds a pull of its own.

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The 25-year-old has admitted that his long-term ambition is to experience the English top flight, but for now he believes he is best served continuing his development at Celtic.

“I was aware,” said Sviatchenko of the interest in him. “I’m always aware when my agent is having some talks but there has to be more than just talks. There was never an issue about me wanting to leave. I’m 25 and I want to play regularly and here is the perfect place to flourish and find your A game.

“There was concrete interest but not a concrete offer. I said that I was happy where I am and at that time I was playing. It was too early for me at that stage.

“It is a dream for every player, including myself, to play at the very top level and I would say the English Premier League is one of the highest levels you can play at. But the experience so far with the Champions League and how we play, I think I am at the right stage at the moment.

“It is future talk. I would be honest and transparent and say that my dream is to play in the Premier League but I am not saying that I want to do it now because I have more than enough to do yet.

“I feel that I have come a long way but I am not done at all, yet. The Champions League nights have been the biggest nights of my career so far and I would like to experience more of them.”

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The irony is, of course, that the interest from Leicester has coincided with Sviatchenko suddenly being in the position of the outside looking in.

The resurgence of Dedryck Boyata in the final weeks of January put the Dane out of the team, although he was back in the starting line-up on Saturday because of an injury to Jozo Simunovic.

“I think I showed I can still play!” he joked. “Obviously, it was good that the manager said that he was pleased with me because he is the man who picks the team so he is the one you want to please the most.

“But competition is a natural thing when you are a professional and sometimes it’s good to come out of the team and think about how you play football and why you play football.

“Hopefully, though, I’ll be in the team from now on because it’s best for my development to play regularly.”

The suspension that put Sviatchenko out and Boyata in was a hangover from last season’s Scottish Cup when the defender celebrated his goal against Rangers, a goal that ultimately counted as little more than a statistical note as Ronny Deila’s Celtic went out of the competition.

“I hadn’t done anything wrong but there was a suspension held over from last season that we weren’t aware of,” he explained. “It was a booking from the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers – the game I scored in.

“But I have the utmost respect for the team and whoever plays in it, even if someone is there at your expense. You still need to be ready to take your chance and I took mine.”

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And the player has insisted that he is ready to roll up his sleeves and battle for the central defensive position.

“Dedryck has always been an exceptional player,” he insisted. “We played together a number of times last season and had a brilliant partnership.

“It’s always good when you see players who haven’t been in the team but who have been working hard getting a game again. It’s a great example for everyone to see what Dedryck has done.

“He was out of the side for a long time and no-one really thought he would have another chance here but he’s been great and his displays have lifted all of us. It’s been really nice to see.

“I believe in my qualities. The manager hadn’t played me so regularly before just for fun. I know that I’m an important player.

“There are some things the manager wants me to be even better at, like bringing the ball forward and that’s something I’m working on.

“It would be too easy to say: ‘That’s football – my time is up here.’ This is the first time in my career I have been on the bench like that but I just want to work hard and, after having been out, I have a better perspective on things.”