Celtic FC have chosen to let centre-back Jozo Simunovic leave as a free agent at the end of last month despite the club having the option of a one-year extension clause in the player’s contract.
The 25-year-old had joined the Hoops in 2015 from Dinamo Zagreb but during the ongoing season, he managed to play in only 16 games across all competitions.
While talking about Simunovic and Hayes’ exit, Neil Lennon had said: “Both leave Celtic as nine-in-a-row champions. It’s an achievement they richly deserve and something I know they will cherish dearly. I would like to sincerely thank both Jozo and Jonny, brilliant lads who have given their all to Celtic over a number of years.”
And now according to Alex Bruce, the Celtic FC thinktank must have a replacement ready since they have let Jozo Simunovic leave without major raising major attention.
“I was a little bit surprised, to be honest,” Bruce told Football Insider.
“He’s done alright whenever I’ve seen him play but sometimes at the end of the season you get the odd surprise about people leaving and what have you. Obviously he wants to go explore other avenues, he’s done his time at Celtic, had a good time and it’s time to move on.
“If they lose Ajer as well, a lot of talk about him too, that could leave them a little bit short. If they do lose the two of them, well, they must have some signings lined up.”
Who will replace Jozo Simunovic at Celtic FC?
Jozo Simunovic might have played very little football for Celtic FC this season but Kristoffer Ajer has been a mainstay for Lennon’s side over the course of the 2019-20 season.
And with the latter being linked with Leicester City, there are reports that the Bhoys are looking at Hellas Verona defender Pawel Dawidowicz to fill up the void next season.
The 25-year-old joined Verona just last summer from Benfica and this campaign he has managed to play in 14 Serie A matches so far.
And as per the rumours, the Italian side are willing to let him leave if an interested club are ready to shell out around £1.4 million in the form of transfer fees.
Right now, Celtic will not be too keen to splash such a considerable amount of money but if they can manage to sell Ajer for a hefty price tag to Leicester City, we don’t think spending £1.5 odd million should be a major cause of concern for Neil Lennon.
