Ligue 1 runners-up Lille have money in the bank after Nicolas Pepe left for Arsenal but can they convince Scottish Premiership champions Celtic to sell?
Lille are set to make another bid for Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic and they aren’t short of cash after selling Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal for £72 million, as reported by the Daily Record.
Not only is Pepe the most expensive African footballer of all time as of Thursday afternoon, he is also the biggest export in Lille’s history.
The Ivory Coast international has made the move across the channel after a 22-goal breakthrough season in Ligue 1 and, while Lille will no doubt be mourning his departure, a huge cash windfall should at least ease the pain.
The Record claims that Lille made an initial £4 million bid for Croatian centre-back Simunovic and they are now set to make a bigger offer in an attempt to convince Celtic to cash in.
The former Dinamo Zagreb stopper, who was snapped up by Ronny Deila in 2015, has been reluctant to extend a contract that expires in two years’ time but that does not mean The Hoops are looking to sell.
Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic have already left Celtic this summer and the seldom-seen Jack Hendry is expected to go to before the transfer window slams shut.
So no matter how much Lille put on the table, Simunovic is one player Neil Lennon cannot afford to sell. And his fine performances in the first few weeks of the season should make Celtic even more stubborn.
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