The early portion of Celtic’s January transfer window was marked by incomings with the Hoops signing Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Johnny Kenny. Since then though, they seem to have moved their focus towards finding new clubs for players who have struggled for minutes on the pitch for Ange Postecoglou’s side, which is certainly the right step on the part of the club.
Liam Shaw has joined Motherwell on loan till the end of the season. He had arrived from Sheffield Wednesday with a lot of expectations but has struggled for playing time at Celtic. Thus, this could be a good opportunity for him to get some experience under his belt and develop further.
On the other hand, Ewan Henderson has moved to Hibernian on loan till the end of the season although it is set to be made permanent in the summer.
And now, another player has headed out of the club on loan. As reported by Celtic’s official website, Conor Hazard has joined HJK Helsinki on a year-long loan move.
Hazard leaves Celtic on loan to join HJK Helsinki
Last season, with both Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain struggling, Hazard had managed to break into the first-team picture at Celtic and was an unlikely hero for the club as they completed an incredible Quadruple Treble.
As a result, many had thought that he had established himself as the first-choice between the posts at Celtic but soon, he would see his playing time reduced once again.
Since the appointment of Postecoglou as manager though, he has not been able to make a single appearance for the Hoops and as a result, it is certainly the right step for him to go on loan to a club where he will hopefully get some playing time.
Still just 23 years of age, Hazard has plenty of time on his side to develop, especially as a goalkeeper but his current deal with Celtic is believed to run till the summer of 2023.