Jozo Simunovic is reported to be signing a contract with Croatian side Rijeka.
After five injury plagued years at Celtic the hoops declined to take up the 12 month option on the defender’s contract.
At different stages under Neil Lennon, Brendan Rodgers and Ronny Deila he was a first pick but 70 SPFL appearances over five years tells its own story.
Turkish side Trabzonspor were linked with Simunovic during the summer but that deal failed to materialise with Rijeka making their move after four matches in the Croatian League.
Bosnian website Sport.ba reports:
Simunovic did not succeed after leaving Celtic, even though he is only 26 years old, there were no clubs interested in his signature and he struggled for a long time to find a new engagement.
For a professional football player, there is nothing worse than a situation in which he is without a club, and no one is interested in your services. Jozo went through real hell like that, and it seems that he has finally found a new engagement.
The media in Croatia report that information is coming from management circles that Šimunovi? will soon become a member of Rijeka.
All that remains is for him to perform medical examinations, and then officially sign for the team from Rujevica. So finally, once a potential bh. national team player, found a new club, but it is clear to everyone that this is a step back in a career that should have been much better and more successful.
Simunovic was viewed as a replacement for Virgil van Dijk when he joined Celtic from Dinamo Zagreb in 2015.
Torino renewed their interest in signing him towards the end of the summer 2016 window but when their interest switched to a loan with a view to buying Celtic called the move off.