Celtic have been home to several Premier League heroes over the course of their careers. Just last summer, they brought in Kasper Schmeichel, who has done a tremendous job since taking up the first-team gloves at Parkhead. Before that, they had Joe Hart between the posts, a true legend of the English top flight.
Then again, there are several players that the club tried and failed to sign. Shane Long has confirmed that he had been close to a move to Celtic during his career, but ultimately, it did not end up happening.
Long spent 13 seasons playing in the Premier League. He represented clubs like Reading, West Bromwich Albion, Hull City and Southampton in the English top flight. He also made 88 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.
Long has admitted that he came close to a move to Parkhead, not once but twice. As reported by The Celtic Way, he said:
"The first time I was at Reading I ended up leaving to play for West Brom under Roy Hodgson, but Celtic were in for me too.
"I was very close to going to Celtic. There was also a transfer window when I was at Southampton when I wasn’t really playing in which I felt I needed to leave to play football — Celtic were in for me then too."
Premier League hero confirms Celtic move was very close
Long enjoyed most of his success while playing for Southampton and the majority of his career in the English top flight. And it is not hard to see why Celtic might have been interested in a player like him. So, why did not the move to Parkhead materialise for him.
Well, the answer is pretty simple. He ended up getting injured and was then back in the first-team plans. Long said:
"It was very close to happening, but there was an injury and I broke back into the team. The move didn’t happen in the end and a good friend of mine is now one of the owners and he always asks me why it didn’t happen"
Well, it is what it is. Long could have been a solid player for Celtic if the move had happened. He scored 56 goals in the Premier League and a further 42 in the English Championship.
Long's best goalscoring season came when he was at Reading in the Championship and enjoyed a 25-goal campaign. So, in the right system, he certainly knew his way to the back of the net and a move to Celtic at that point in his career could have certainly been interesting.