Alex Iwobi has revealed that he had the option of moving to Celtic instead of staying at Arsenal.
Born in Lagos and raised in London, Iwobi has made over 300 Premier League appearances, also closing in on 100 caps for Nigeria.
He hit 100 appearances at Arsenal before moving to Everton for £34 million. There, he was converted into a central midfielder,
Now at Fulham, Iwobi has been a mainstay for Marco Silva’s side this season, AFCON-aside – but things could’ve been very different, with the involvement of former Hoops manager Liam Brady.
Who is your biggest ‘what-if’ Celtic transfer rumour?
Alex Iwobi on having the option to join Celtic
Reflecting on playing in Arsenal’s academy at the time, Iwobi told the High Performance Podcast: “When i was 15, 16, it turned around because I started growing and playing for England.
“That’s when it started changing and Arsenal started to rate me a bit more…
READ MORE: Kieran Tierney breaks an unlikely personal record against Aberdeen
“Even at 16 it was tough, because everyone that played at my age for England got offered a professional contract, but I was the only one that didn’t…
“At the time, it was Liam Brady, I believe, who had actually said to me: ‘you’re going to get a scholarship, but if you want to go to another club, feel free to look’.
“I thought, ‘What does that mean?’ ‘Do you want me or not?’ Sort of thing.
“So then I actually looked at Crystal Palace, looked at Celtic. I went to Crystal Palace Training Ground and had a look.
“But I’ve been through a lot of rejection. With rejection, whenever I get told I’m not good enough, I always like to prove that I am good enough to stick around.
“So I said, me and my dad said, ‘We’re not going nowhere. We’re going to prove that I’m good enough to play for Arsenal.’”
You have been given £10m to sign one player for Celtic in the summer transfer window…
Which player are you spending that money on?
Players to play for Arsenal and Celtic
If he made the move, Iwobi could’ve joined a list of players to play for Arsenal and Celtic, which features some pretty strong names.
Of course, the obvious current one is Kieran Tierney, who has spent all-but one season of his career at either club. He is well-remembered by Arsenal fans, and adored by the Parkhead faithful.
He is joined by Celtic’s newest signing, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a big name from English football who was a teammate of Iwobi at Arsenal.
Kolo Toure completed an invincible season at both clubs, whilst Charlie Nicholas was a hero of both supports.
John Hartson played in a European final for both, and lastly, Freddy Ljungberg’s spells at the two clubs couldn’t be remembered more differently.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
