Report: Crystal Palace enquire about Jozo Simunovic; Celtic want £9m as Leicester and Watford also circle

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Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Watford are all interested in pulling off a late deal for Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic.

According to the Daily Mail’s live transfer feed (31st August 2017; 13:37 pm), Crystal Palace, Leicester and Watford have all made enquiries for Celtic’s Jozo Simunovic as they look to bolster their defensive options in the final hours of the transfer window.

Simunovic is arguably the Hoops’ most impressive centre-back, and has been an important player for the side since Brendan Rodgers’ arrival last summer.

His form has not gone unnoticed by the Premier League however, with the Mail suggesting that Burnley and Huddersfield have previously held an interest in the 23-year-old, who, despite playing for Croatia at various youth levels, recently switched his allegiance to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

And now the Bhoys may face a further fight if they hope to hold onto the former Dinamo Zagreb man, with the Mail’s live transfer feed suggesting that Palace, Leicester and Watford have all been in touch about a potential deal.

Celtic appear to be determined to hold onto Simunovic, and have slapped a £9 million price tag on him – seemingly in an attempt to deter the top flight sides.

It would undoubtedly be a major blow for Celtic to lose Simunovic at this stage of the window. Rodgers was arguably already struggling for options in the middle of the defence – occasionally turning to midfielder Nir Bitton to fill the void this season – so you would imagine that Celtic would rather bring a new defender in than sanction an exit, especially with the Champions League group-stages just around the corner.

But it remains to be seen whether Palace, Leicester or Watford follow up their enquiries with concrete bids, and whether Simunovic has any interest in making the move away from Parkhead if the chance presents itself.

With the likes of Virgil van Dijk thriving since his move to the Premier League from Celtic, it would certainly not be a surprise if the interested clubs seriously considered stepping up their interest in Simunovic during the coming hours.