The 28-year-old has effectively confirmed he won’t be staying at Celtic.
Moritz Bauer has admitted that his loan spell at Celtic has turned quite bitter.
The Stoke City right-back joined the Hoops on a season-long loan last summer.
But despite initially being involved, Bauer’s playing time at Celtic reduced in a big way once Jeremie Frimpong established himself as Neil Lennon’s first-choice option.
The 19-year-old has been a revelation under Lennon this season, and Bauer had only managed 226 minutes of football across all competitions this calendar year – the equivalent of two-and-a-half games.
And the Austria international has effectively confirmed that he’ll be returning to his parent club – who paid £5 million for him in 2018 – once his loan is finished.
Reflecting on his spell with Celtic to The Scottish Sun, Bauer said: “It was an exciting experience for me at Celtic, even if it went bitterly for me. Losing my place wasn’t down to my performances.
“I understand what happened because Celtic are building the experience of a younger player. When the new season starts at Stoke, I now have the chance to get people talking again about me with my performances.”
Celtic fans won’t care all that much if Bauer doesn’t stay. After all, Lennon also has Hatem Elhamed as a right-back option.
Three players of the same position were signed when Mikael Lustig left Parkhead last summer, and the reality is that the Stoke defender simply isn’t needed anymore.
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