Danny Simpson blames Celtic board for transfer falling through as he admits 'I was gutted'

Danny Simpson has revealed he was 'very close' to joining Celtic in 2019 - and blamed the board as the reason the move didn't come to pass.

The former Leicester right-back was a target for Neil Lennon that summer but the move never happened, and the Hoops instead signed Jeremie Frimpong and Moritz Bauer in his position in that window. Simpson, a former Premier League winner, who had just left the Foxes at the time, instead signed for Huddersfield, but struggled with form and injuries and was let go after one season.

Now retired, Simpson featured against the Hoops in the charity match with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. And in an interview with fan site CeltsAreHere, he opened up on the move that didn't happen - as much as he wanted it to at the time. He said: “I came very close, 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.

"Why didn't it happen? “The board. Neil rang me and said ‘It’s not going to happen’. It’s one of those 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.”