The Hoops have cancelled a trial for veteran right-back Simpson, who reportedly did not want to be a subs option at Parkhead.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has explained why he decided to pull the plug on a trial for 2015-16 Premier League champion Danny Simpson, as reported in the Leicester Mercury, suggesting that other signings beyond Hatem Abd Elhamed are on their way to bolster the right-back position.
The former Leicester City full-back, 32, was poised to try and earn a deal with the Scottish Premiership champions this week following his release at the end of last season, but Lennon opted to withdraw the offer.
The Sun (23 July, page 57) has claimed that Simpson has no interest in sitting on the bench at Parkhead, given the Hoops are set to not only sign Elhamed – who can play right-back but has mostly plied his trade at centre-back – but also “one or two other options”.
At his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, meanwhile, Lennon claimed that, with the move for the Israel international nearing completion and others “down the line”, he and his setup felt it was “futile” to bring Simpson in if other right-backs are also coming on board.
“On Danny, we were down the line with Hatem and one or two other options so we just felt it would be futile to bring Danny in if he sees us bringing in other players in his specialised position,” said Lennon, as quoted by the Leicester Mercury.
Simpson spent five years at Leicester, joining the King Power Stadium outfit in the summer of 2014 and playing a key role in the historic shock English title win of 2015-16 under Claudio Ranieri.
Along with his Foxes stint, the £3.15million-valued (Transfermarkt) veteran defender – who came through the ranks at Manchester United – has also had fruitful stints at Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers.
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