Celtic have a number of players come up from the Premier League in England to ply their trade at Celtic Park over the years.
Off the top of my head, Chris Sutton and John Hartson along with Alan Thompson and Neil Lennon are the most high-profile of them.
More recently, Scott Sinclair joined from Aston Villa in 2016 as did Olivier Ntcham from Man City in 2017. But many Celtic fans not of my vintage may be surprised to learn that former Arsenal striker, Ian Wright, also once donned the famous green and white Hoops.
Wright joined Celtic back in 1999 towards the end of his career as John Barnes looked for emergency cover for Henrik Larsson who had just suffered a broken leg against Lyon in the UEFA Cup.
However, it was at Arsenal where Wright admits he did something ‘cowardly’ to former Celtic winger, Regi Blinker, which he now reveals he really only sorted out with the Dutchman when he moved to Glasgow.
Ian Wright clears up Regi Blinker hair pull at Celtic
Reflecting on the house-ry he used to get up to in his playing days, Wright confessed that this moment where he pulled Regi Blinker’s hair in a Premier League match against Sheffield Wednesday really only got sorted out properly at Celtic.
Gary Neville asked him about that on the Stick to Football podcast and Wright said, “Yeah. Let me explain and clear up.
“I know it was such a cowardly move because what I did to Regi is a cowardly move.
“So as soon as I saw, I said, I wouldn’t do that. His back’s turned, shirts over his head.
“This is a rivalry you’re building. But me and Regi, in the end, it wasn’t a good thing because Regi, with his dreadlocks, it’s all about the rasta hair and stuff. Can’t touch it, it was very disrespectful.
“So I apologised to him and everything. Made sure I apologised to him and then we played together at Celtic and we sorted it out properly.”
Ian Wright’s fleeting Celtic career
Wright joined Celtic at probably one of the most turbulent times in the club’s history. John Barnes had just taken over from Dr Josef Venglos and Celtic had only won one trophy since stopping Rangers’ ten-in-a-row bid.
Larsson was out long-term and Celtic’s season started to implode after losing five out of seven games in a four-week spell that included Lyon twice in Europe, then Motherwell twice and Rangers in the league.
Wright made nine appearances but still did manage to score three goals in wins against Kilmarnock, Hearts and Aberdeen before retiring in the summer.
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