Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace were interested in signing Jozo Simunovic from Scottish Premiership giants Celtic.
Two months after he completed his £1 million move from RB Leipzig, Marvin Compper is finally set to make his long-awaited bow as a Celtic player.
The cultured centre-back picked up an injury during the mid-season trip to Dubai and has been missing since. The German was expected to make his bow against Dundee on Wednesday night before the weather put pay to that clash at Parkhead.
Instead, a Scottish Premiership debut could be awaiting in just over a week’s time in the Old Firm derby.
And it will be interesting to see where Compper fits in. If he strolls immediately into the Celtic starting XI, it could tell us a lot about the future of his new defensive rival Jozo Simunovic.
The Bosnian’s future at Parkhead is very much uncertain right now after a season in which he has lost his place to youngster Kristoffer Ajer and been heavily linked with a move away to the Premier League.
The Mail stated in January that Crystal Palace were keen and Celtic would have sold for £7 million. Considering that Damien Delaney and Martin Kelly are out of contract and Timothy Fosu-Mensah (below) is on loan from Manchester United, do not be surprised if Palace step up their initial interest by the end of the season.
If Simunovic finds himself behind Compper in Brendan Rodgers’ pecking order, surely this will be a sign that the reigning Scottish champions are ready to let the former Dinamo Zagreb stopper bid farewell to Parkhead.
The next few fixtures could tell us a lot.
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