Rodgers: No discount deals
Britain Football Soccer - Aberdeen v Celtic - Scottish League Cup Final - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland - 27/11/16 Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Celtic's Jozo Simunovic celebrate after the match Reuters / Russell Cheyne Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Burnley can forget about a cut price deal for Jozo Simunovic.
At the weekend it was claimed that the Celtic defender was a £10m target for the English side who recently sold Michael Keane to Everton for £25m.
Brendan Rodgers has no need to sell players but if anyone does leave it’ll be at the market rate rather than an SPFL discount deal.
Simunovic has been outstanding for Celtic this season with his manager looking to build a team rather than sell off his stars.
“We don’t have a great need to sell anyone,” Rodgers told the Daily Record. “That is the message. There is nobody really that we have to sell.
“I understand that what you will have now is a real focus on a lot of our players because of the level they are playing at and their quality.
“Managers and coaches looking from the outside in will think ‘wow these players are playing for a big club, dealing with pressure and dealing well with it’.
“And if they see they can do that they will know for sure that they would be able to play for their clubs but we have no need to sell.”
Celtic signed Simunovic in a complex deal from Dinamo Zagreb two years ago at the time Virgil van Dijk was leaving the club.
The initial fee seemed to vary between £2-4m with the Croatian side ensuring that they get a healthy cut in any future transfer fee.
After a lengthy spell of injury problems Simunovic has resumed full fitness and will play on the artificial turf at the Astana Arena today.