The Turkish defender is destined to join Atletico but the plan was as a free agent in the summer. The Spanish club are keen to get a deal done now as they look to offload Felipe to Wolves.
Despite being a regular under Brendan Rodgers for three years and helping Leicester to the FA Cup in 2021, Soyuncu has fallen out of favour this season and played just one Premier League game
The Croatian has struggled with knee injuries in recent years and the Scottish champions have opted against taking up their option to keep him for a further year.
Manager Neil Lennon has paid tribute to both Simunovic and Hayes:
“Both leave Celtic as nine-in-a-row champions. It’s an achievement they richly deserve and something I know they will cherish dearly.”
“I would like to sincerely thank both Jozo and Jonny, brilliant lads who have given their all to Celtic over a number of years.”
There was a mixed reaction among fans to Simunovic’s impending departure on Twitter:
The Croatian will certainly be remembered for his crunching tackle on Kenny Miller but it must be said that he has not been able to stay fit for long stretches of his time in Scotland.
Simunovic has not played more than 20 league games in his last three seasons at Celtic, and with the likes of Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien ahead of him in the pecking order, it seems like the right time to let him go.
