Exclusive: I'd snub Serie A to stay a Celt, says City loanee Samaras

Lazio president Claudio Lotito has admitted he is considering making an offer for Samaras, who helped the Parkhead club win last term's SPL title during a five-month loan spell, while Italian rivals Lecce are also keen to strike a £3million deal with Manchester City.

Happy a Hoop: Georgios Samaras wants to return to Parkhead

International quality: Georgios Samaras in action for Greece

The 23-year-old Greek striker is aware of those potential moves, but would prefer to make a permanent switch to Glasgow and compete in the Champions League.

Celtic have also been tracking Alexander Frei and Roman Pavluchenko this summer, yet Samaras hopes he remains high on Gordon Strachan's wanted list of forwards.

'Coming back to Celtic would still be my first choice,' confirmed Samaras. 'I had a great time at the club and the loan deal we made in January worked out really well. It helped Celtic, but it helped me too.

'Everything was correct during that time. I think the supporters took to me and I feel really happy about that. I also formed good relationships with my team-mates, the coaching staff and everyone else inside the club. I hope that can all continue in the future because there was so much support and love shown to me at Celtic last season.

'I'm waiting to see what will happen over the next days. At the moment, I don't know what my future holds and it is still relatively early in the summer. I'm on holiday just now, trying to recharge my batteries and waiting for some news.'

Celtic are still weighing up whether to push through a deal for Samaras, behind Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in last season's pecking order, and are unlikely to be drawn into an auction should Lazio or Lecce up the ante.

Strachan may prefer to further investigate the possibility of other targets before committing to a cash offer for the former Heerenveen player, who is likely to demand a wage of about £25,000 per week.

For his part, Samaras has yet to have a definitive statement on his position from new City boss Mark Hughes - but has resolved to leave the Eastlands outfit before the new season in search of more frequent first-team action.

The managerial upheaval at City, who parted company with Sven-Goran Eriksson earlier this month, added another layer of confusion to the player's future, with discussions put on hold until after Greece exited Euro 2008 last week.

'I think we need more time to see what Manchester City think and exactly what my price will be,' said Samaras. 'But I want to leave.'