Emilio Izaguirre’s departure from Celtic didn’t surprise anyone, but the defender claims it should’ve come last January.
The Honduran spent eight years at Parkhead over the course of two spells. The second, however, wasn’t anywhere near as productive as his first. Izzy left with yet another treble, but he spent his one year back at the club playing on just 19 occasions.
In the end, Izzy was third choice at left-back behind Jonny Hayes. That came after a disastrous home performance against Valencia from the Honduran, who ended up leaving in the summer when his contract expired.
Now, Izaguirre is training with his hometown team Montagua, and is looking to find a route to the MLS. And, speaking to Diez, the Honduran claimed Celtic stopped him from leaving last January.
“I had an offer in January and Celtic did not let me go. I had offers from the MLS. My agent told me that Celtic put a lot of obstacles in place. Now he is working so that everything goes well.
“My agent is managing that. We are waiting for something as close as possible to be as close to my wife and children.”
Celtic right to delay Emilio Izaguirre’s departure
Whether Izzy had offers in the MLS or not, that didn’t matter – Celtic did the right thing by hanging onto him.
At the time, we only really had Kieran Tierney and Izzy down the left. Hayes hadn’t been playing there regularly before Valencia, with the odd appearance here and there at left-back being his whack. Celtic did the right thing in sticking with Izzy for cover.
As for a potential move to the MLS, Izaguirre’s quality should easily see him bag one. The likes of Johnny Russell, Gedion Zelalem, and Perry Kitchen are all plying their trade in the USA. Izzy would fit in there without a hitch if it’s what he wants.
You can argue as to whether bringing Izaguirre back in the first place was a good thing. At the end of the day, he looked a safe option for cover to Tierney, and it made more sense at the time than it did after he departed.
Hopefully, Izzy isn’t too disgruntled about being blocked for a move back in January. Celtic certainly gave him plenty of opportunities to impress in Europe and on a global stage. Therefore, we were quite entitled to hang onto him for a bit longer if we felt necessary.
Now, it’s all eyes on the future, and with a bit of luck, the Honduran finds his way to the MLS.
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