CELTIC have made it clear that a second bid from Torino for Jozo Simunovic would be rejected next month because they club has no wish to sell the defender.
The Italian club thought they had signed the Croatian in August, that deal fell through for a number of reasons, and are expected to come back in with a deal far higher than their previous offer of £3.75million.
But even if Torino came up with anything close to £10m, the figure which Celtic believe is the player's worth, Simunovic is going nowhere for the foreseeable future.
The transformation of the 22-year-old from an injury-plagued new signing to someone all-but out the door four months ago has been remarkable. Simunovic has played superbly recently, his partnership forged with Erik Sviatchenko a real success, and the Celtic support will be delighted that such a talent is staying in Glasgow.
Read more: Any English club stupid enough to dismiss Celtic's best players are missing a trick
Asked whether Torino would be wasting their time, John Kennedy, the Celtic coach, said: “Yes, we want to keep him here. That's important. He’s a big player for us now and he’s shown that in the last couple of Champions League games. He’s a top player and we want to keep our best players.
“Jozo is a top centre-back. Even when we looked at him, away back when he was at Zagreb, he was the one everyone agreed was the best option. When you’re talking about bringing in quality, he is that. He’s one that you bring in to improve the team.
"He’s been terrific, a fantastic boy to work with. He has a great attitude, super professional. Everything he does is for his career and for the good of this club. He is in a good position at the moment so it is just about maintaining that for him. He had a long period out last year but he has certainly looked strong since he came back.”
Simunovic is a proper defender in the eyes of Kennedy, which Brendan Rodgers’s assistant believes makes him a cut above most of his contemporaries.
Read more: Any English club stupid enough to dismiss Celtic's best players are missing a trick
“He’s got the height, the strength, the speed and technically he’s very good,” said Kennedy. “On top of that, he’s got a fantastic attitude. Nowadays proper centre-backs are very hard to come by.
“You get a lot of centre-backs now who don’t really want to defend and that becomes a problem for you when you are put under pressure but he’s certainly one that likes to put his head in. He makes tackles but he can play when need be.”
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