Celtic are willing to offload defender Jozo Simunovic to Burnley in the January transfer window if their valuation is met, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claim that the Scottish champions would sell the Bosnian international to the high-flying Premier League side for around £7million next month as they eye up a move for Dundee’s Jack Hendry as a potential replacement.
The Mail report that the seventh-placed English outfit are keen to recruit the centre-back from Celtic.
Simunovic, 23, has been a mainstay of the Hoops first-team this season, making 19 appearances across all competitions despite missing a bulk of the early part of the campaign due to injury.
Good move for Celtic?
If Celtic can secure £7million for a centre-back who cannot get in their first team that would be impressive business. Simunovic has had some fine games for Celtic since joining from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2015, but he has not been able to establish himself as indispensable due to a series of niggling injuries and doubts about his fortitude. There will be few tears shed among supporters if Celtic sell the Bosnian for a decent fee next month.
This Is Futbol rating 7/10
Likely to happen?
Simunovic signed a new deal in September after coming close to joining Torino in the past but that appears a mechanism to safeguard his value rather than an endorsement of Brendan Rodgers’ faith in the player. With the emergence of Kristoffer Ajer and the signing of Marvin Compper the Hoops seem to have ideas for a new central-defensive partnership that doesn’t include the Bosnian defender. If the money’s right, Simunovic could very well be sold in the coming weeks to help fund the Bhoys’ next tilt at the Champions League group stages.
This Is Futbol rating 6/10