Scott Sinclair finally looks set to get the thank you from Celtic fans he deserves

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The Celtic fans are clearly delighted at the class July announcement regarding Scott Sinclair’s Parkhead return.

The Hoops will host Championship outfit Preston North End on Saturday, July 17th in a pre-season friendly. That announcement would normally lead to plenty of shrugs of the shoulders. After all, it isn’t a fixture that screams excitement.

But the major subplot to the game will be the return to Parkhead of Sinclair. The former Celtic invincible is absolutely adored by the supporters for his part in our treble-treble success. The winger came in under Brendan Rodgers back in the summer of 2016 and totally helped to revolutionise the football club.

He would go on to score 62 goals and bag 34 assists for the club in 167 outings [Transfermarkt]. In addition to that, he quite incredibly won every single competition on offer to him before leaving for Preston in January 2020.

Scott Sinclair didn’t get the Celtic send-off his contribution deserved

One of the saddest aspects to Sinclair’s departure was the lack of fanfare surrounding it. Because it was a mid-season move and he hadn’t been playing much under Neil Lennon, he didn’t get a proper opportunity to say goodbye to the supporters.

His trip to Parkhead in two months will provide him with that chance. Supporters will likely be allowed into the stadium, albeit not enough to fill Parkhead. It’ll give some of the supporters a proper chance to say thank you to the Englishman.

You could even argue that we’ve never truly replaced him. Mikey Johnston has struggled to stay injury-free whilst Mohamed Elyounoussi was far too inconsistent. The Sinclair of 2016/17 in particular? We haven’t come close to finding someone to step into those shoes.

It’ll be interesting to see what level he’s operating at with Preston. Even though they failed to bag a playoff place last season, Sinclair was still a regular for them. Could he still cut it in the green and white? We’ll potentially find out on July 17th.

For now, however, supporters have been having fun with the announcement. Many believe it’s time to spice up the friendly and put Sinky’s contract on the line: