Winger turned down Celtic return chance this summer

Celtic have made some solid signings this summer. Kasper Schmeichel, even in the twilight of his career, looks like the real deal. We all know what Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo bring to the table, having seen them succeed on loan at Parkhead last season. And hopefully, Viljami Sinisalo will develop into a starter for the Hoops eventually.

Their transfer business last summer was much more questionable. Barely any of the players brought in ended up starting consistently for Brendan Rodgers' side.

One such signing from last summer was Marco Tilio. The Australian winger had earned comparisons with Phil Foden back Down Under but in Glasgow, he rarely managed to make appearances. He was not helped by fitness issues either.

Eventually, he ended up returning to Melbourne City FC on loan in the middle of the season. And he has remained there, on a temporary basis.

Winger turned down Celtic return chance this summer

It looks like Celtic wanted Tilio to return for the pre-season. There were other loan opportunities in Europe as well.

Ultimately, Tilio decided that remaining at Melbourne City FC for a year was the best step for him. As reported by news.com.au, the winger said:

"I spoke with Celtic and they wanted me to go back there and do the pre-season, but for myself it was about getting myself in the right place and the right mindset to eventually want to go back overseas.

“For me, missing so much football, I didn’t want to risk going back overseas and not playing again, so I made the decision to stay at City with the opportunity to play consistent games stay fit and put myself in a really good spot, come the end of this loan spell, to go back.

“There were (other loan) opportunities in Europe to go back and explore but … knowing the competition in Europe, I wanted to have a year of playing consistently.

“There’s no guarantee of that anywhere, but for my best chance, I stayed here."

Who knows how things could have gone for Tilio back at Celtic? Just look at the change in Nicolas Kuhn's fortunes.

When Kuhn arrived last winter, he did not look like someone capable of starting regularly for Celtic. By the end of the campaign, he had fallen behind James Forrest in the pecking order.

At the moment, Kuhn looks like a reborn. He has arguably been the Hoops' best player so far in this campaign, having made a tremendous start to the season. Hopefully, this is not a purple patch and the German winger will continue to perform like this moving forward.