Celtic found out who they would face in the Europa League group stages on Friday afternoon, and on paper it looks to be a tough draw.
Despite being seeded as pot one, Celtic weren’t given any favours in the draw. The Hoops will face Sparta Prague, AC Milan and Lille in the group stages.
No doubt that the glamour tie is the one against Milan, which will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic make his return to Celtic Park after 19 years.
However, one thing that might have been overlooked is that the Hoops could be in for a reunion with a player who left Celtic only two seasons ago – Timothy Weah.
Made an impressive debut
Weah joined the Hoops on loan from PSG in January 2019 and was one of Brendan Rodgers’ last signings for the club. The player made an immediate impact on his debut, scoring in a 3-0 win over Airdrieonians.
Weah was in and out of the side in his time at the club, as Neil Lennon gave the player some chances when he took over from Rodgers. All in all, he played 17 times for the Hoops, scoring four goals.
However, what will be mostly remembered from Weah’s time at Celtic is his departure from the club. The Hoops cancelled his loan deal before the end of the season.
Left Hoops early
The Herald reported that the deal came to an end after Weah refused to play in the Scottish Cup Final against Hearts. Weah was set to train with the American under-20 World Cup side. Then he would return to Celtic in time for the cup final.
That would have meant that he missed America’s first game in the tournament. However, he decided to join up with his national team permanently for the tournament instead. As a result, Celtic boss Neil Lennon cancelled the loan, as he felt that the player wasn’t committed enough.
After leaving PSG Weah moved to Lille on a permanent deal, but last season he suffered two serious hamstring injuries. The second injury coming in his first match back after the original injury.
Now he is fit and has played three times for Lille this season. It would certainly be interesting to see him up against his old Hoops teammates. Hopefully if he plays he has an off night. When he is on his game he can be explosive with the pace he has.
In other news, Neil Lennon has confirmed that Nir Bitton will miss the Glasgow derby.
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