Scottish Premiership champions Celtic reportedly wanted to sign Miquel Nelom in 2017 but now he has signed for Hibernian.
One year after being heavily linked with a switch to Celtic, Miquel Nelom is finally on his way to Scotland. But the defender is not about to sign for the current Premiership champions.
According to the Glasgow Evening Telegraph, Nelom was a target for Celtic in the summer of 2017. The Feyenoord left-back was understood to be a potential replacement for Emilio Izaguirre, who had gone to Saudi Arabia and left Kieran Tierney as the club’s only natural left-back.
With just a year left on his contract, Nelom was reported to have been available for just £1 million despite winning the Eredivisie title – Feyenoord’s first since 1999 – a few months earlier.
A year on, however, the 28-year-old has signed for Neil Lennon’s Hibernian on a free transfer after leaving De Kuip upon the expiry of his contract. And it remains to be seen whether Celtic regret missing out on Nelom when they had the chance.
Should the two-time Dutch international impress with Hibs, Celtic fans will be forgiven for wondering why they did not return for him in the summer and instead brought the 32-year-old Izaguirre back after that disappointing stint with Al Fiyah.
Izaguirre has plenty of experience and six Scottish Premiership titles on his CV but Nelom is a younger, more energetic player who would perhaps have offered Rodgers the chance to give Tierney a rest without worrying about a potentially negative impact on his side.
Nelom has been one of the Eredivisie’s standout left-backs in recent years while Izaguirre is past his best. And he has a chance to show Celtic what they are missing as Hibs take on the champions after the international break.
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