Player claims Celtic didn’t let him leave in January, he wanted to

Follow us on Google Discover

Craig Gordon has told The Scotsman that he wanted to leave Celtic in the January transfer window.

The former Sunderland goalkeeper has added that Celtic did not want him to leave in the middle of the past season.

Gordon has added that he would have liked to return to Heart of Midlothian in January 2020.

As reported by BBC Sport, the 37-year-old goalkeeper has returned to Hearts on a two-year contract, having started his professional club football career at the Jambos.

Gordon told The Scotsman: “Celtic wouldn’t let me go in January. I did want to get out and play games at that point.

“I would have liked to come back to Hearts in that window but it wasn’t possible. It didn’t get that close in the end but it was something I wanted to do.

“As soon as Robbie made contact and wanted the deal to go through, I was very happy. Having played with him, I know what he’s like. He spoke about getting everybody together and creating a good atmosphere. I think that’s already happening. There are positive signs at Hearts.”

Sensible move?

Gordon struggled for playing time at Celtic this past season, and the goalkeeper was going to be only a back-up at Celtic Park if he stayed at the Hoops for the 2020-21 campaign.

The 37-year-old is a very good goalkeeper who still has at least a couple of years at the top level.

While staying at Celtic and being part of a team that could potentially make history would have been appealing, the chance to play regular first-team football at Hearts was perhaps too good to reisist.