Stilian Petrov Position Midfielder DOB 05/07/1979 P.O.B. Montana, Bulgaria Height 5'9" Club Celtic

Fulham target Stilian Petrov's agent, Tony McGill, insists Celtic manager Gordon Strachan will be wasting his time in trying to persuade the Bulgaria international to remain at the club.

McGill said yesterday that Petrov will definitely leave Celtic at the end of the season and that teams have already made inquiries about the 26-year-old midfielder following his written transfer request last week.

"Stilian is not going to stay," said McGill. "He has been thinking about this for six months now. Obviously, Gordon Strachan genuinely wants him to stay - as will all his team-mates.

"But the bottom line is, now Stan has put it in writing, it is a weight off his shoulders. I have had contact from other agents representing various clubs all over Europe and these have been directed to Celtic.

"I have not done anything wrong and it's out of my hands until - if and when - Celtic accept an offer from a club. There were clubs in for Stan in January when he had nothing to do with me. I wasn't his agent then but it doesn't matter who his agent is if he decides to leave. The club will have to let him go."

Strachan has said he will do everything possible to keep Petrov at Celtic, while captain Neil Lennon warned the Bulgarian that moving to one of the smaller Premiership clubs would be a step backwards.

McGill agrees that the likes of Fulham, who have been credited with an interest in Petrov, are not as big a club as Celtic but insists that the chance to test himself against the best in the world on a weekly basis is the driving force behind his client's decision to seek pastures new. "Celtic are a fantastic and massive club, but we are talking about the difference in leagues," McGill added.

"Stilian might not go to a bigger club in England, but there is a big difference between the two leagues. With respect to the SPL, it's a million miles apart from the Premiership.

"Celtic are a massive club, but playing in the SPL is nowhere near as good as the Premiership in my eyes. Clubs are not as big as Celtic, but the challenge of playing in the Premiership week-in, week-out is what Stilian wants.

"He wants to be playing against the best players in the world. There are not too many bigger clubs than Celtic and the fans will say there is no greater club than them. I agree with that and I can understand what Neil Lennon is saying. But the bottom line is it's the league Stilian wants to be a part of and not the club."