IT says so much about where Celtic stand right now in the football world when the moment they spend decent money on a player you start to wonder how much they can sell him on for in two years.
Jozo Simunovic cost Celtic close to £5.5million to lure him from Dinamo Zagreb to replace Virgil van Dijk in more ways than one. The Croatian under-21 captain is not only expected to become the team’s key central defender this season but also in a perfect world he will at least double his fee somewhere down the line.
Ronny Deila, the Celtic manager, was clearly pleased with his business and, of course, the priority concerning Simunovic is that he is a good footballer, and his CV does suggest that he is just that. However, the way the Norwegian spoke about his new player, it is clear that the Croatian is the latest project in the way Van Dijk was.
Not that there is anything hugely wrong with that.
“We see Simunovic as a big, big prospect,” said Deila. “He’s the Croatia under-21 captain, he has played big matches for Dinamo Zagreb but not every match all the time – and he’s still young. So this is a new Virgil van Dijk, someone we can build up to be like that.
“Virgil also took time to get up to his level and he has progressed all the time. The first year with Virgil, he was a bit up and down. At the end of that season, we could have sold him for maybe £7m or £8m pounds. Then we kept him for one more year, suddenly he is worth £13m.
“I think if we could have kept Virgil for one more year, he could have gone for £18m. But we had no chance to keep him, he didn’t want to be here anymore. So this is a new Virgil coming in, someone we can build up into a top quality player.”
Asked whether the new Virgil could one day demand a transfer fee the old one did, Southampton shelled out £13m on him, Deila was quite sure Simunovic would do just that over time.
“I think he has the potential. But, if you look at Virgil when he came here, nobody knew about him – he just developed through the years,” said Deila. "We feel we’ve bought a player here who has the attributes that can make him a top-class player. That’s why we signed him.
“In time, we hope he will be as good as Virgil. That’s what we hope for. He is a different player, he’s not Virgil. But he is a modern central defender, very quick, with good movement and good ability, good technique, as well as a good attitude and understanding of the game.
“He’s very well educated. So we just have to get him into Scotland and get him used to this type of football.”
Simunovic used the help of a translator but speaks good English which is important and he certainly gave off the impression that he was keen to get started.
“There is big money at stake but I don’t feel much pressure," he said. “I am here to do my best in every single game. That is the only thing that matters. I am excited and ready to play (against Aberdeen.) If the coach decided to put me in then I am ready.
“I am settled. I arrived last night, I’m in a hotel and will soon get an apartment. It’s not really strange. The boys have welcomed me and accepted me, so it’s been good.
“It is hard to describe myself as a player. I know the game, I’m steady, quick and strong. I will try to make the best impression I can. I always wanted to play in Britain. I like the style here. There is a very special way of playing.
“I did know about Celtic. The club has a rich history. They play every year in either the Champions League or Europa League and they are the champions of Scotland. They have the best fans in the world.”
Rather impressively, Simunovic was booked after only eight seconds when playing for his national team against Norway on Monday night.
“I jumped and the referee made the wrong decision,” he claimed with an innocent face. “He blew the wrong whistle. When I jumped I hit their attacker but it wasn’t a foul. He gave me a yellow card – but it was not one.”
It is also impressive that he opted to leave a club who actually qualified for the Champions League for one that did not.
“It was not a wrench to leave because I want this,” said Simunovic. “I wanted the chance to play for Celtic and I hope next year I will play in the Champions League with Celtic. I believe it.”
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