Former Manchester United player blames Celtic board for failed move

There are a lot of sliding door moments in football. In 2019, Mikael Lustig left Celtic after spending over seven seasons in Glasgow. That meant that the Hoops needed to bring in a right-back and eventually, Jeremie Frimpoing ended up being the one taking his place in the team. Of course, back then he was a little-known Manchester City academy graduate. His rise at Parkhead might not have happened though if the club had succeeded in signing a former Manchester United defender.

One can assume that Celtic did not expect Frimpong to develop into a starting right-back immediately after arriving. He was more of a project signing with a long-term view.

One of the right-backs that Celtic had seemingly tried to sign in 2019 was Danny Simpson. He had come through the Manchester United youth ranks but never really made it at Old Trafford, only making a handful of appearances for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

He did have positive spells at Newcastle United and QPR. Simpson would then go on to join Leicester City, with whom he won a historic Premier League title.

Former Manchester United player blames Celtic board for failed move

Simpson has now lifted the lid on his failed move to Celtic in 2019. As reported by CeltsAreHere, he said:

"[I came] very close [to signing], I was gutted actually.

“I wanted to go there and win trophies but it didn’t happen. I spoke to the manager at the time, Neil Lennon, he wanted it to happen.

“Unfortunately, that’s one of the things I would have liked to have got over the line."

Simpson pointed at the board when asked why the deal broke down:

"The board.

“Neil rang me and said ‘It’s not going to happen’.

“It’s one of them things. It’s a long time ago now, it was 2019.

“It’s a shame because I know the club, amazing things, but it wasn’t meant to be unfortunately."

Celtic did sign quite a few right-backs that summer. Other than Frimpong, Hatem Abd Elhamed and Moritz Bauer were also brought in.

In the end, Frimpong ended up proving to be a better signing than anybody could have expected. He has since gone on to win the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen and was a popular figure during his brief stint at Celtic.

As for Simpson, he ended up joining Huddersfield Town that summer. But the move was not really a success. He had spells at a few other clubs before retiring earlier this year.