Beyond this season, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is unlikely to ever be more than a quiz question answer in Celtic circles.
Signed on a season-long loan from Manchester City, the youngster turned out to be an utterly bizarre signing.
Brendan Rodgers didn’t even register Simpson-Pusey for the Hoops’ Europa League squad, and in six months in Glasgow, he made just one appearance.
Few were therefore surprised when his loan was cut short right at the beginning of the January window, with Stephen Welsh being recalled from Motherwell to take his place.
Meanwhile, Simpson-Pusey has moved to Koln – and he’s had something of a baptism of fire.
Change my mind…
Ex-Celtic man Jahmai Simpson-Pusey vs Bayern Munich
It was less than a year ago when Celtic almost took Bayern Munich to extra time, having their hearts broken in the final minutes in Germany by Alphonso Davies.
The Hoops’ drop-off in level since that tie has been staggering.
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Bayern, on the other hand, have gone from strength to strength, and currently sit eleven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga; yet to lose a game.
They are second in the Champions League’s League Phase table behind Arsenal, for good measure.
In their clash with Koln on Wednesday, Simpson-Pusey had an eventful evening, almost scoring a spectacular own-goal after overhitting a pass back to his goalkeeper.
Koln took the lead through Linton Maina on 41 minutes, but Bayern equalised before the break. Second-half goals from Kim Min-Jae and Lennart Karl gave Vincent Kompany’s men a 3-1 win.
However, from Simpson-Pusey’s perspective, it was another 90-minute performance, in which he completed more passes into the final third than any other outfield Koln player.
And speaking after the game, the England youth international just sounded happy to be playing again – he even gave himself a bit of credit for his display.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey: Not good enough or not used enough?
Ex-Celtic man Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on facing Bayern Munich
Speaking after the encounter, Simpson-Pusey had praise for two of his opponents, reflecting on his time in Glasgow.
He said: “I’ve wanted to play for the last seven months and now I have my chance. I’m very grateful for that, I want to prove myself.”
“[Harry Kane] is a top player, and it was an experience for me to play against the England captain with so much experience.
“I think I did reasonably well. But there’s always room for improvement.”
“I try to appear calm. Especially when I’m playing in the centre of a back five, like this time, I can’t be the one who panics.”
Koln have an option to buy Simpson-Pusey for €5 million.
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