Former Premier League star fell out with agent when Celtic transfer fell through

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Former Leicester and Newcastle right-back Danny Simpson has been speaking about a move to Celtic that collapsed back in 2019.

Simpson, a Premier League winner with Leicester City in 2016, was released by the Foxes in the summer of 2019. At that time, Brendan Rodgers, then the manager of Leicester City, helped negotiate a trial for Simpson at Lennoxtown.

Simpson’s move later collapsed with Hatem Abd Elhamed signed instead and Neil Lennon at the time said Simpson’s trial was cancelled with the Hoops exploring other options. Celtic also signed two other right-backs that summer, Moritz Bauer on loan and Jeremie Frimpong from Manchester City in a four year deal. Frimpong later departed Celtic for £11.5 million in January 2021.

The potential signing of Simpson undoubtedly could have affected the success of Jeremie Frimpong at Celtic. However, it’s clear that Celtic made the right choice, as Frimpong was a hit at the Hoops, winning the Scottish Premiership, Scottish League Cup, and Scottish Cup in just under 18 months at the club.

At 32 years old when linked with Celtic, Simpson would likely have had next to no sell-on value, unlike Frimpong, who Celtic were able to make a substantial profit on.

Simpson said: [Filthy Fellas Podcast], “It’s mad, that’s how it works sometimes. I fell out with my agent because something happened with Celtic. That was the one why I turned the other one down. Celtic was on the cards, it was on the table.

“I spoke to Neil Lennon and everything, it was European football, more trophies, I spoke to Kolo Toure and Brendan about it, that fell through at the end when it was all done, that fell through.”

Simpson’s ‘what if’ scenario does pose the question of how he would have fit in at Celtic, but it could have meant that Frimpong didn’t join the club. Out of Elhamed, Bauer, and Frimpong, the Dutch prospect was the last one to join, and it’s unlikeky have would have if Simpson signed up.

Looking back, signing Frimpong over Simpson was the right decision in Celtic’s transfer model of signing young, hungry players and selling them on for large profits, which Simpson certainly did not fit in the later stages of his career.