Lazio are believed to have joined a list of clubs weighing up a potential move for Croatian defender Jozo Simunovic.

The 22-year-old was scouted by Spanish sides Sevilla and Espanyol, while former suitors Torino and Bundesliga club Red Bull Leipzig have also been credited with an interest in the player.

West Brom, Crystal Palace and newly-promoted Newcastle are also interested in the defender.

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Simunovic was close to agreeing a move Torino on deadline day last August but the move collapsing at the eleventh hour.

There was interest again in the player in the January window, although Brendan Rodgers is privately believed to have told officials at the club that the player was a vital part of his plans and he did not want him sold.

Certainly, since the last window Simunovic's value will have risen considerably from last term after playing a significant role in last term's Treble winning season.

Meanwhile, Scott Sinclair has insisted that regardless of any tensions around Celtic's potential UEFA second round qualifier against Linfield that the players remain focused on reaching the group stages of the elite competition.

And the 28-year-old Englishman believed that the Parkhead side will not be distracted by any off-field pressures as they look to earn a hard-won ticket to the tournament.

Linfield face San Marino minnows La Fiorita in the opening qualifying round next week and should they beat them, they will tee up a clash with Celtic.

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There is an expectancy that Celtic will be away from home in the first leg, despite dears from the PSNI over the policing of the fixture given its timing on either the 11th or 12th July.

The dates coincide with the Orange Order marches and is a time when police resources are already stretched.

For Sinclair, though, it is about simply a case of looking at only the football side of matters

"No-one really sort of talked about it, to be honest," Sinclair said of the draw.

"Every team, they're always out to beat us. No matter who we play, it's going to be a difficult game so we just have to keep the mentality, the character and not underestimate any team going into it.

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"To all the fans, they would love to see us in Europe again and playing on the Wednesday and Tuesday nights.

"The main thing is to get into the group stages. Once we do that, then we can talk about how far we want to take it.

"The season we had, we want to go through to the group stages and we want to progress from there. That's what we head towards and that's what we need to achieve."