Brendan Rodgers believes that Celtic enjoyed a great stroke of fortune on the final day of the transfer window by retaining Jozo Simunovic.
Without having seen the defender play the Irishman looked set to lose the defender to Torino in a £3.5m deal.
Simunovic hadn’t been seen in a Celtic jersey since January and flew over to Torino preparing to sign for the Italian side alongside Joe Hart.
For whatever reasons that transfer fell through with Rodgers getting a chance to see the Croatian defender in action in Celtic’s last two matches.
“He looks a fantastic player and I’m talking more in training than the games,” Rodgers said after the 2-0 win over Alloa.
“He came in at Inverness and the plan was to try and give him game time tonight and get him through 60 minutes. If you look at his profile he’s 6ft 3, he’s strong, he’s quick he’s dominant.
“He shows wonderful mentality for me and he’s a player that I really like. If you see him in training he looks impressive. Hopefully he stays fit and makes his way into the team.
“He’s a top player and a big talent. I hadn’t seen much of him and he was injured. I can see why he’s highly-rated and I can see why a club such as Torino wanted to take him.
“He’s got all the attributes to be a top centre-half and now it’s about availability and playing.”
Simunovic played alongside Kolo Toure last night as Celtic kept a clean sheet against Alloa.