Celtic appeared to have no second thoughts about letting Mackay-Steven leave for Scottish Premiership rivals Aberdeen in 2017.
Celtic simply could not wait to get rid of Gary Mackay-Steven in 2017.
The winger arrived at Parkhead alongside his Dundee United teammate Stuart Armstrong three years ago but, while the dynamic midfielder established himself as a key player under Brendan Rodgers, Mackay-Steven rapidly fell down the pecking order.
Rodgers played the Thurso-born talent in just eight league games before letting him leave for Aberdeen for £150,000 (Evening Express).
But, for the first time since then, will Celtic be wondering whether Mackay-Steven should have been given more of a chance? After all, the 28-year-old looks a player reborn this season, taking his tally to six with the winner against Hibernian, having recently been rewarded with a re-call to the Scotland squad.
“His pace, his drive and his quality for the finish is what we expect from him. For me, when he reaches his levels, he’s as good a wide player as we’ve got in the league,” Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes told the BBC of his star man.
But is Mackay-Steven showing during his ongoing purple patch that he was good enough for Celtic after all? The jinking wide man is a confidence player, so it is no wonder he struggled to make an impression when featuring so infrequently under Rodgers.
If the former Liverpool and Swansea boss had believed in Mackay-Steven a little more, he could have had a potentially game-changing talent on his hands.
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