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"I’d love to pull on the Celtic shirt"; Andy Robertson still has Hoops dream
Scotland captain Andy Robertson would “love” to play for Celtic, but under certain conditions.
He doesn’t want to make up the numbers, nor play for the club past his usefulness. The Liverpool hero, a Champions League and Premier League winner with the Reds, came through the Academy at Celtic. Unfortunately, coaches at the time didn’t think he was up to scratch, releasing the now-Scotland captain.
Robertson went to Queen’s Park, then Jackie McNamara’s Dundee United and the rest, as they say, is history. The Scotland left-back will be the first to lead his country out in a major tournament since Colin Hendry in 1998.
The Celtic-daft superstar, who’s often asked about his club allegiances, is only 27. However, the career of a professional is a short one, and the topic of retiring at his bhoyhood club is always interesting.
Speaking to Peter Martin of PLZ Soccer, Robertson said:
“I would love to play for Celtic. When I was a young boy growing up I used to say I’d give my best years to Celtic so I don’t want to go there when I’m old and maybe can’t move as much.
“The time will come to make that decision but I have a good length of time left on my Liverpool contract. I hope to stay and retire at the club and if I keep going and I feel fit and healthy I’d love to do that.
“But if not I’d look at options and I’d love to pull on the Celtic shirt, of course I would. But I don’t want to be an old fart when I go there. I want to still be able to play well. I don’t want my mates hating on me!”
Andy Robertson: Liverpool hero / (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
There’s a queue for former Celtic stars we’d love back, including Academy bhoy Andy Robertson
He’s one of the great modern “what ifs”, is Robertson. Just like Shay Given before him [Record], and countless others who’ve made it elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine why they didn’t impress at Academy level.
There are plenty of players, who either made the mark or didn’t, who we’d love to see in Celtic colours again amongst the world’s pros. Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney would surely get into a current XI of ex-Celtic men.
That said, just like Scotland, we’d need to find a way to fit in both KT and Robertson, but that wouldn’t exactly be a bad problem to have. Surely Steve Clarke would give us a hand with that.
It’s testament to the Celtic Academy and scouting networks that so many who’ve been involved with the club have gone on to superstardom. Robertson is chief of those, and his unlikely but fantastic career story is one for the ages. Now, his next job is to help Scotland compete against Europe’s best in the blue of Scotland.
We can’t wait!
READ MORE: Ireland U21 boss not happy with Celtic
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