FRENCH FANCY
Celtic’s Simunovic is £5m target for Lille
FRENCH club Lille are set to launch a £5million bid for Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic.
The troubled Ligue 1 side are rebuilding after the departure of coach Marcelo Bielsa and a narrow escape from relegation in the final weeks of the season.
Tipped to finish in the top five, Lille escaped the drop after scraping into 17th place. The threat of an administrative relegation imposed by the DNCG, the financial ‘policemen’ of the French game, was also lifted earlier this month. And French sources have told
Sportsmail that Parkhead defender Simunovic (right) tops a list of potential reinforcements for reprieved coach Christophe Galtier. A £2.8million signing in August 2015, the Bosnian defender signed a new four-year deal last year to remain under contract until 2021.
Close to leaving Celtic for Torino two years ago, however,
the former Dinamo Zagreb central defender struggled to hold down a firstteam place after sustaining a red card at Ibrox in a 3-2 win over Rangers in March. With Belgian World Cup defender Dedryck Boyata dragging his heels over a new contract, it remains to be seen if Brendan Rodgers would wish to lose another experienced central defender with Champions League experience. Rodgers, meanwhile, has revealed his World Cup contingent will sit out the Champions League trip to Armenia — with two key players in danger of missing further qualifiers. Boyata, Mikael Lustig, Tom Rogic and Cristian Gamboa have represented their respective countries in Russia. Lustig’s Sweden and Boyata’s Belgium have qualified for the last 16, with Rogic’s Australia and Gamboa’s Costa Rica now eliminated. Rodgers, however, has decided to give each of them a fortnight’s holiday from the moment their team’s involvement is over — ruling all of them out of the match against Alashkert in Yerevan on July 10. Rogic and Gamboa will be available for the return leg in Glasgow on July 18 but, with Belgium and Sweden eyeing the latter stages, there is every chance Boyata and Lustig will be posted absent until later. Asked about Rogic’s timeline after Australia’s elimination on Tuesday, Rodgers said: ‘He’ll be back training on July 12. He won’t be playing in the first leg. He’ll have two weeks free and then come back fresh and ready for hopefully another exciting season.’ On the other three players, Rodgers explained: ‘All the boys, from when they go out, have got two weeks. ‘We hope they can do well and can stay injury free, so we get them back fit.’ The departure of Stuart Armstrong to Southampton adds to the threadbare nature of Rodgers’ squad ahead of the first of four potential qualifying ties. Insisting he held no grudges against the midfielder for wanting to try his luck in the English Premier League, Rodgers said: ‘I’m sad to lose a guy who has been with us on this remarkable journey in these last two seasons. I’m delighted for him.’ Celtic face Czechs Bohemians in Austria tomorrow before a meeting with Sparta Prague on Tuesday.