Adelaide Gay relishing life at Celtic

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Celtic F.C.

·3 September 2025

Adelaide Gay relishing life at Celtic

Celtic Women’s rallying cry this season has been ‘Join the Journey’, and new Ghirl, Adelaide Gay has certainly been on a journey of her own by criss-crossing the Atlantic on several occasions.

The American keeper has mainly divided her career between the USA and Scandinavia, playing for a gloveful of teams in her US homeland as well as outfits in Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark – and it was while spending time in Danish football with Fortuna Hjorring that she first worked under Elena Sadiku.

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And that meeting means that Gay’s latest flight across the Big Pond landed in Scotland rather than Scandinavia.

The keeper said of joining Celtic: “It came through my agent, but I also know Elena, I played for her for about a half-season in Denmark

“So that was the main reason why I was really intrigued about it because I know her, I know what she’s about, I know how she treats her players, so I’m very excited about it.

“I’ve played in Scandinavia probably for about a total of eight years off and on. I was in Sweden for two-and-a-half years, that was my first time overseas and then I went back to the US.

“I played in Iceland for a year, I played in Norway during covid, which was interesting, and then most recently in the US but before that I was in Denmark for three years.

“I’ve been all over, I’ve been in the US three or four times as well, and I do think it makes you more adaptable, because you have to adapt quickly to the style of play.

“I think particularly going back to the US, or coming from the US, there is a little bit of a transition period because the football is so different.

“But, I think obviously having played in Europe before, it comes back to you pretty quickly.”

Her transatlantic travels have seen the keeper make many contacts on both sides of the Atlantic who have been at Celtic and helped her make her mind up.

She said: “I had heard a lot from people, who have played here, I know Kelsey, the goalkeeper who was here before, and I obviously knew Elena, I knew the Carstens sisters, and the club is so historical and there is so much history.

“I’m learning a lot more of it, so I was just excited to be a part of it and I think they are building something special here.

'And that’s one of my favourite things - to be a part of that building process, not necessarily just something once it’s already made.'

The building process outlined by Celtic’s Head Coach is obviously something the shot-stopper is relishing.

Gay added: “She gave a presentation on the whole history of it and what they’ve been doing in the past five years here.

“A lot of it was on style of play, and I kind of already knew her preferred style of play, but a lot of it was about long-term and what they’re trying to build here which I think is just incredible.”

And on settling in, the keeper said: “It’s been awesome so far, everyone’s been super-welcoming and nice, and I’ve got a few sessions under my belt, so it’s been really good.

“It’s always tough to get over the jet-lag the first few days, and waking up earlier to train, but it’s been pretty easy coming into the team and getting to know everyone and how they like the ball, and it’s been good.”