Season Report: Celtic number three Emilio Izaguirre

By John Reid

June 1, 2019

Time for the third instalment of the new series looking at how the season fared for every member of the Celtic squad.

We will go through each individual and give an analysis of their season. On this occasion we are looking at veteran left-back Emilio Izaguirre.

Surprise and delight

There was surprise and delight when Izaguirre made an unexpected return to Celtic in August.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

He had been a very popular figure with the fans. Izaguirre had been an excellent player in his first spell with the club. Indeed, he was named Scotland’s player of the year in 2011.

However, his latest spell at the club didn’t live up to expectations. He wasn’t the player he was once was.

(Photo by Vagelis Georgariou/Action Plus via Getty Images)

Poor performance at Pittodrie

His time in the side all but came to end after a poor performance in the 4-3 win over Aberdeen in December. He was replaced by Jonny Hayes at half-time in that match.

Hayes seemed to be the preferred option of both Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon to replace Kieran Tierney, and not Izaguirre.

(ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Despite his lack of appearances, the Hoops wanted to give Izaguirre a new one-year deal. However, as recently reported by the Scottish Sun Izaguirre turned the deal down and has left the club for a second time.

This was later confirmed by his agent, who revealed that the player wanted to move to a club closer to his family in Honduras.

It seems that Izaguirre’s best days as a player are now behind him. It is a pity as in his first spell with the Hoops he was excellent. This was not the case in his second spell, but he will always be a favourite with the fans.