By support

31st Aug, 2016 | 9:29pm

Celtic defender deal collapses - report

By Dominic Toner

Torino have failed to agree a deal for Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic, according to a report.

Sky Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claimed on his personal Twitter account that the Italian side have not been able to reach an agreement for the Scottish club’s 22-year-old defender.

David Amoyal, who is an English page columnist for Di Marzio, has reported the story on his personal Twitter account and translated that the two clubs have failed in their negotiations for the centre-back.

The Scottish Daily Mail on Tuesday claimed that Torino were considering a £3.75m offer for Simunovic and were hoping to fly the Croatia international to Italy to complete a deal.

The Serie A side completed a season-long loan deal for England’s number one goalkeeper Joe Hart, who has left Manchester City after slipping down the club’s pecking order under Pep Guardiola.

Brendan Rodgers has signed former West Brom defender Cristian Gamboa to bolster the Celtic defence, which opened the door for Simunovic to leave.

Simunovic only moved to Celtic Park from Dinamo Zagreb in a £3million deal last summer and has four years left on his contract.

The defender is yet to play under Rodgers after undergoing knee surgery earlier in the year.

But the defender has made just 17 appearances for the Scottish giants and manager Brendan Rodgers is keen to trim a bloated squad.

Celtic have enjoyed a strong start to the Scottish Premiership this season and lead the way with three wins out of three, as well as progressing through their Champions League qualifiers and being drawn against Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach in the group stages.

In other Celtic transfer news, a Premier League playmaker was on the club’s shortlist this summer.