Jozo Simunovic was close to leaving Celtic on transfer deadline day.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been quoted as saying by The Scottish Sun that he does not know much about Jozo Simunovic.
Simunovic will remain at Celtic until January at least after his move to Italian club Torino in the summer transfer window collapsed.
As the 22-year-old defender revealed on social networking site Twitter, Torino wanted to change the terms of the deal with Celtic at the last minute.
The Croatia Under-21 centre-back will now remain at Celtic Park until January at least.
Celtic manager Rodgers is ready to work with the former Dinamo Zagreb defender, but the ex-Liverpool manager has admitted that he does not know much about the youngster.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen a lot of Jozo, so I don’t know his entire qualities,” The Scottish Sun quotes Rodgers as saying. “But he’s just coming back to fitness, and he’s trained a couple of times with the team.
“And I like what I see. He’s obviously got a long way to go in terms of that physical fitness because he’s been out for so long.
“But he’s a young player, he’s very hungry as a boy. Obviously the move didn’t work out for him and for the club but maybe it was fate.
“Maybe he’s meant to be back here working and like I said we welcome him back with open arms, let’s see how he gets on.”
Celtic have made a strong start to the 2016-17 Scottish Premiership and are favourites to win the league title.
The Bhoys are at the top of the league table at the moment with nine points from three matches, a point clear of second-placed Rangers with a game in hand.
The Hoops will face Old Firm rivals Rangers at Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership after the international break.
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