Pundit claims Celtic may try to bring back former player

The pundit has claimed that Celtic may be targeting a move for the former player who had failed to break into the team in his first stint at the club.

There have been a lot of what ifs in Celtic history as many players have managed to slip out from their grasps before becoming great footballers elsewhere. The name of Andrew Robertson comes to mind immediately.

One name that does not though is that of Declan Gallagher. He came through the club’s youth system but never even managed to make an appearance for them. In his first season of senior football, he was sent to third division side Stranraer and was then released.

Now, to be honest, Gallagher has managed to carve out quite a successful career for himself since then and currently captains Motherwell. Since his great performances for Scotland on their way to the EUROs, he has been linked with a return to his boyhood club.

And Alex McLeish believes that a move could be on the cards. As reported by Football Insider, he said:

"“Is that the priority? You would think that with Jullien out for a right few weeks then that’s a massive loss.“Who do you bring in? Do you have to plunge in for a well-known centre-back, an experienced centre-back – you certainly can’t bring in a rookie.“The level of Celtic are striving for, I don’t know, they may be targeting the Motherwell centre-back (Gallagher) for instance, who I think was on Celtic’s books when he was a kid.”"

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The problem here is, Gallagher is 29 years old and will not get much better than he already is. While there have been late bloomers in football before, it is safe to say that there was not a lot of hype surrounding the Scottish international before his performances for the national team.

If the price is right, the Hoops should get him as a transitional signing. Gallagher has proven that he can get it done in Scottish football and that is more than what we can say for Shane Duffy, unfortunately. He is not a long-term solution to their defensive problems though.

Someone like Mark McKenzie could have been a perfect signing in that regard but now that he has joined KRC Genk, perhaps signing someone like Gallagher could give Celtic the time they need to scout out someone who can actually thrive at the heart of their defence for years to come.