Celtic defender reportedly wanted by EPL side for £8 million

Celtic vs Hearts

Scottish Daily Record reports that Crystal Palace are looking to acquire Celtic’ defender Jozo Simunovic for a reported fee of around £8 million.

Bosnian defender is set to leave Celtic Park after Brendan Rodgers has marginalized him in favor of Mikael Lustig and Dedryck Boyata this season. The 23-year-old centre-back has managed to collect only 9 Premiership appearances this season and looks out of favour.

Celtic’ first signing in January Marvin Compper is also a defender, and it will be difficult for Simunovic to find room to play in the second part of the season.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson is looking to strengthen defensive line because James Tomkins and Scott Dann do not have the adequate backup, as the newcomer Jairo Riedewald proved to be unreliable.

However, Crystal Palace will have to beat the competition from Burnley if they want to sign the former Dinamo Zagreb player. Beside Simunovic, Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko is also on his way out after Brendan Rodgers gave him permission to find a new club.