Celtic defender Emilio Izaguirre has revealed that he hopes to get a new three year deal with the club. The Honduran hopes he has done enough in recent times to strike a new deal that would take him to his testimonial (tenth) year in Glasgow.
Most people would expect the thirty-one year old to be in the United States today with Honduras preparing for their crucial Gold Cup game with Costa Rica. That is not the case. Izaguirre told the Daily Record this week that that hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has spoken with Honduras coach Jorge Luis Pinto, He said that the two managers came to the conclusion that he would be better staying in Glasgow to prepare for Celtic’s upcoming Champions League qualifiers.
It was in this interview that the left back also spoke of his ambitions to extend his time with the hoops for another three years. He said “I am proud to have played for Celtic for so long and grateful to the fans and the board. The Celtic manager has told me he wants to keep me. My wish is to stay for three more years with my family”
This news comes after Brendan Rodgers chose to activate a one year contract extension for the central American last season as Kieran Tierney was recovering from a broken leg. Izaguirre went on to say that he hopes to stay for at least another three years before heading to the MLS to finish his career.
Does he deserve it?
We know that football is a cruel game sometimes and Izaguirre knows this better than most. After a terrific first year in Glasgow in 2010, Izaguirre was flying high. After recently being named Scottish player of the year and Scottish football writers player of the year he attracted some attention from down south. He opted to stay in Scotland where he could play in Europe with Celtic. Emilio spoke of his love for the Champions League claiming it was “better than playing in the world cup”.
The next year however, tragedy struck. After a mistimed challenge from Aberdeen player Paul Pawlett, Izaguirre left the field on a stretcher after fracturing his ankle. An injury that would keep him out for six months.
The Honduran was never really the same player when he returned. He had lost that yard of pace and seemed reluctant to dive into challenges as ferociously as he once had. After experimenting with Charlie Mulgrew and a few other left backs Izaguirre seemed to win his place back in the team. Until April 2015 when Kieran Tierney replaced the aging left back to make his debut.
Tierney grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He was impressive in his first game and hasn’t looked back. Since that game Tierney has went from strength to strength winning Young Player of the year and becoming a permanent fixture in the Scottish national side.
This reduced Izaguirre’s playing time dramatically, leaving him with only eighteen first team appearances last campaign. One would have to think that had Tierney stayed fit all season that number of eighteen appearances may have been a lot lower.
Determined to fight
It is without doubt that Celtic fans would be sad to see Izzy go, he has transformed into a cult like figure over his last seven years at Parkhead. I however think that his time is up. At 31 I think it would be mad to give a player who is on the downside of his career another three years. Yes I do appreciate everything he has done for the club but it just doesn’t make any business sense.
With KT playing how he is and young players coming through I would hate to see us give a three year contract to an aging full back purely out of loyalty. I respect his determination to stay and fight for the jersey and I trust Brendan will do what he thinks is best for the club. I just think that such money and resources could be spent on younger, more exciting talent.