Pundit Paul John Dykes has discussed the possibility of Celtic re-signing their former central defender Jozo Simunovic.
Dykes was hosting the latest episode of the A Celtic State of Mind podcast and he spoke about multiple issues involving the Bhoys.
One player that he did speak about was Simunovic and he went onto speak about the possibility of the Hoops bringing the Croatian back this summer. Dykes believes that the ship has sailed as Nir Bitton’s prominence has now increased.
It was recently reported that Simunovic’s move to Rijeka has collapsed as the club pulled out due to concerns about the defender’s injury record. Turkish side Trabzonspor had also pulled the plug on a move for him earlier this summer (as per Daily Record).
Dykes was talking about Simunovic and he seemed against the idea of Celtic bringing him back this summer. The Croatian left Parkhead earlier this summer.
Dykes said: “I think that ship’s sailed, personally. Be interesting to hear what everybody else thinks but my opinion is that that ship has sailed.
“I think what’s helped the cause is Bitton. Bitton has come in and he’s absolutely bossed it in the couple of games. Even going back to [the Livingston match] when he came on, he was cool as a cucumber.
“Started against Riga, he was, other than [Jeremie] Frimpong, the best player on the pitch for me. Then against Hibs, he was just cool and composed and sometimes, that’s what we need.”
Should Celtic re-sign Simunovic?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Bitton has picked up a rating of 7.09 in the Premiership this season and has made three appearances in the league so far. It shows that he’s done well in the campaign.
Simunovic had a pretty troublesome injury record at Celtic too. Since the 2017/18 season, he missed as many as 55 games due to injury.
That might have been a reason why Neil Lennon decided to let him leave in the first place. So, re-signing him despite the constant fitness issues seemingly wouldn’t make sense for the Bhoys.