Confirmed: Ex-Celtic goalkeeper returns to Scottish football

By David Walton

May 23, 2022

Former Celtic goalkeeper David Marshall has confirmed his switch to Hibernian ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Marshall was a free agent after his QPR contract came to an end at the end of the season. His move to Scotland ends a 15-year career down south after initially leaving Parkhead for Norwich City back in 2007.

The Scotland international, who has 46 caps to his name, racked up just under 450 Championship appearances and also has experience of EPL football too [Transfermarkt]. But today, he’s now officially back in Scottish football after signing on at Easter Road:

The move back up the road comes after the appointment of Lee Johnson as the club’s new manager last week.

Marshall spoke back in 2020 about wanting a move back to Celtic Park during the Neil Lennon era and before the arrival of Vasilis Barkas [Scottish Sun].

Instead, it looks as though he’ll be coming up against the Hoops in the opposite goalmouth next season in what’s bound to be a fascinating watch.

Great to see ex-Celtic star David Marshall back in Scottish football

Marshall may not have managed the heights we all thought he would initially achieve at Celtic Park, but he was still a solid goalkeeper who’s still well thought of amongst those who saw him during his breakthrough days in Glasgow.

Unfortunately for Marshall, we had Artur Boruc making a huge impact at the club before his departure and that led to an exit he needed to make. He won’t regret it either given he went on to play in the EPL and become Scotland’s number 1 for a prolonged period.

He may even view himself as having a big chance to stake a claim for the number one jersey coming back to Scottish football too. After all, Craig Gordon has been earning regular appearances under Steve Clarke. There’s no reason Marshall can’t do similar.

At 37, Marshall still has several years of competing at the top level yet. And he’ll view his move to Easter Road as a chance for him to remind everyone in Scotland what he’s capable of.

It would’ve been interesting to see how our season would’ve differed in 2020/21 had we signed a goalkeeper. There’s no denying it was a huge issue for us given how often we mixed things up between the sticks.

Regardless, there’s no point in looking back. We wish Marshall the very best as he returns back home to Scotland. With the exception of a few certain fixtures of course.

In other news, What Brendan Rodgers has told Ange Postecoglou about Celtic Park Euro nights