Newcastle United are interested in signing Celtic central defender Jozo Simunovic in the summer transfer window, according to the Evening Chronicle.
The report claims that the Magpies have been keeping a close eye on the 22-year-old for the majority of the campaign and on several occasions, the club has sent scouts to watch the defender in action.
The Chronicle report that manager Rafael Benitez wants to recruit two new centre-backs this summer, with his plan to bring in Simunovic and a more experienced operator.
This means that Grant Hanley, 26, is likely to leave after making little impression at Newcastle since joining from Blackburn for £5million last summer.
It’s also reported that the Scottish champions will only sell the defender for a fee around £10million and Newcastle also face some competition for Simunovic’s signature with Premier League clubs West Brom and Crystal Palace in the hunt, not to mention La Liga teams Sevilla and Espanyol.
The Croatian joined Celtic at the beginning of the 2015/16 season and he didn’t have the best of starts to his life in the Scottish Premier League as he suffered a serious knee injury in January which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
This season, Simunovic returned to action in September and since then, he has been an ever present in a Celtic side that has made history by becoming the first Scottish side to remain unbeaten in a 38-match league season.
The Croatian has made 32 appearances in all competitions this season and he’s found himself on the scoresheet only once in the 2-1 win over Dundee in March.
Simunovic is likely to be in Celtic’s starting lineup on the weekend as they face Aderdeen in the Scottish Cup final.