Former Celtic star makes plea for Parkhead return

With Shane Duffy set to join the Hoops on a season-long loan this week, one of his ex-squadmates has issued a plea to join the team under Neil Lennon.

Transfer business is certainly picking up at Celtic with 10IAR up for grabs this season. And a number of players seem interested in being part of the historic season.

Previously reported by the Boot Room, ex-Celtic midfielder Beram Kayal spoke with the Daily Record, having nothing but positive thoughts about Duffy’s move to Parkhead:

"“Shane [Duffy] is an amazing character to have around the squad. Everyone loves him. Whatever you need from him or whenever you need him, he is always there for team-mates. I have a lot of good memories between me and him at Brighton when we did a lot of good things, such as the promotion season.”"

The 32-year-old Israeli international played alongside Duffy at English club Brighton for three seasons from 2017 to 2019 but is currently a free agent after being released in July.

During his time at Brighton, Kayal had five goals in 129 appearances, helping the club secure promotion to the Premier League in 2017. He spent the 2020 season on loan, however, to English Championship side Charlton Athletic, making just six appearances for the Red Robins before his loan was cut short by injury in January.

Prior to playing with Duffy at Brighton, however, Kayal spent five seasons at Parkhead from 2010 to 2015, making 132 appearances for the Hoops in that span while being a part of four league titles. He was initially signed by Neil Lennon during his earlier managerial stint in Glasgow, and enjoyed some relative success at the club, even winning the SPFL’s Player of the Month Award in January 2011.

Unfortunately, his play was limited on occasion by injuries, but he still managed to captain the squad for numerous matches during his time there.

Now, with Duffy set to join the Hoops, Kayal seems to be hoping to reunite with him and Lennon this season, saying

"“Tell Lenny I want to come back! At the moment, I have some interest, but I need to wait as clubs are waiting. I would like a big challenge and I am open to everything. I know Celtic have many midfielders and have just signed one and there is no point in going somewhere when I am not needed. But everyone knows I would love to go back to Celtic. It started my career in Europe and it would be amazing to do Ten in a Row with Lenny. I’ll have the phone on waiting for him to call if he needs me!”"

This is obviously a long shot, due not only to Kayal’s injury history and likely salary desires (reportedly £20,000/week at Brighton), but Celtic are stocked with midfield talent currently. One scenario where his return could be likely would be as a gap-filler in the event Oliver Ntcham does indeed leave via transfer this summer.