Celtic are champions of Scotland once again, having seen the Scottish Premiership season settled early due to the global pandemic.
It’s now nine in a row for the Bhoys, who are closing in on the goal of 10. Neil Lennon will already have one eye on that target, with a big summer window coming up.
They have already had to make a couple of tough decisions. On Saturday evening, Celtic announced that Jonny Hayes and Jozo Simunovic are leaving the club.
Both players are out of contract this summer. Many expected them to sign extension and stay put, but both will be on the move.
Hayes racked up 26 appearances for Celtic this season, often stepping in to play at left back despite the signings of Greg Taylor and Boli Bolingoli last summer.
The Irishman has been a trusted senior player, but three years after Brendan Rodgers signed him from Aberdeen, he will now be on his way out of Parkhead.
Defender Simunovic was signed as Virgil van Dijk’s replacement in 2015, and whilst the former Dinamo Zagreb ace has shown quality at times, injuries have ravaged him.
Now, pundit Kris Boyd has told Sky Sports that he is ‘surprised’ to see Hayes leave the club, as having such a versatile player could be vital next season. Boyd can’t understand why Hayes would want to leave either, believing that he would want to stay for 10 in a row.
Boyd added that Simunovic is the best defender at Celtic, but injuries mean his exit isn’t a surprise as Celtic can’t rely on him to be fit.
“I must admit I was actually surprised with the Jonny Hayes one myself,” said Boyd. “Maybe he’s took it upon himself. Maybe he wants to play week in, week out. He’s getting to that stage of his career where you want to play games but with what Celtic have got on the horizon I am very surprised that he would want to leave. So for me, they couldn’t agree a new contract.”
“Simunovic on the other hand, his injury record has not been great. For me, and I think Neil Lennon has been on record saying it, he’s the best defender he had at the football club, but injuries have curtailed his career.
“Going back to Hayes, it’s a strange one for me because when he comes in he has never let the team down and he can play in a lot of positions. I think with Scottish football going forward because of the virus and the impact that it is going to have on football teams I am surprised you don’t want to keep players around that can play two or three positions. So I was really surprised to see Jonny Hayes leave. Simunovic not so much so, as I say, because of his injury record.”
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