Marco Tilio endured a difficult first season at Celtic, which led to his loan move back to Melbourne City in the January transfer window.
The Australia international made just two cameo appearances for the Bhoys due to bad luck with injuries and subsequently headed back down under to try and rediscover his best form.
Nevertheless, a combination of muscle and hamstring issues limited his impact in the second half of 2023/24, scoring once in five appearances across all competitions.
Now back at AAMI Park, Tilio will be desperate to evade his fitness problems to gain a regular run of starts under Aurelio Vidmar following a frustrating period where he has spent plenty of time on the sidelines.
Speaking about his motivations for the campaign, the winger has made an honest admission regarding what his future could’ve held this summer before finalising a switch back to Melbourne City.
Marco Tilio on his move back to Melbourne City
Per The Advertiser, Tilio has admitted that Celtic wanted him to return for pre-season, but he made the decision to go withstand their advice to prolong his stay in Australia this term.
He explained: “I spoke with Celtic, and they wanted me to go back there and do the pre-season, but for myself, it was about getting myself in the right place and the right mindset to eventually want to go back overseas.”
“For me, missing so much football, I didn’t want to risk going back overseas and not playing again, so I made the decision to stay at City with the opportunity to play consistent games stay fit and put myself in a really good spot, come the end of this loan spell, to go back.
“There were (other loan) opportunities in Europe to go back and explore but … knowing the competition in Europe, I wanted to have a year of playing consistently. There’s no guarantee of that anywhere, but for my best chance, I stayed here.”
Marco Tilio’s decision could prove beneficial for Celtic
It is hard to imagine that Tilio would’ve returned to Celtic in pre-season and managed to lock down a place in Brendan Rodgers’ starting line-up. He has missed a lot of football due to injuries; that is just the unfortunate reality of the situation.
In all likelihood, a loan move was the best solution for both parties. With that in mind, the 22-year-old might as well feature in an environment he knows and is comfortable in.
This does two things: it helps him to build confidence ahead of making his way back to Celtic in the future, while it may also increase his transfer value should he deliver.
Celtic will keep an eye on Tilio’s progress this season before deciding on his future at a later date. Good luck to him.
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