Kieran Tierney Returns To Celtic: Three Players That Left the Club and Returned

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The Celtic Star

·30 juin 2025

Kieran Tierney Returns To Celtic: Three Players That Left the Club and Returned

Kieran Tierney Returns To Celtic: Three Players That Left the Club and Returned…

Kieran Tierney, Photo Celtic FC

Very recently, Celtic made their biggest signing for some time as they announced the return of former club captain Kieran Tierney on a five-year deal. The Scottish international left Parkhead in 2019 after becoming one of the most coveted left-backs in Europe, joining Premier League giants Arsenal for £25m. However, after falling out of favour with the Gunners over the last couple of years, the boyhood Bhoys fan didn’t have his contract renewed and has since opted to return home.

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The signing is certainly a coup for Celtic as Tierney had no shortage of potential suitors, especially in the Premier League. However, it is Parkhead he has opted to return to, and online sports betting sites and bookmakers have responded to the signing. The latest odds from the popular Bodog sports betting site now make Celtic a 2/5 favorite to win the Scottish Premiership next term, well clear of rivals theRangers, who are a distant 2/1.

But Tierney isn’t the only player to return to Paradise after leaving the club. Here are three other players whose footsteps he is set to follow in, and how they fared upon their respective returns.

Shaun Maloney

21.05.2003.Shaun Maloney (li., Celtic Glasgow) gegen Ricardo Costa (FC Porto) Photo imago/Colorsport

Much like Tierney, attacking midfielder Shaun Maloney came through the ranks on the green half of Glasgow, breaking into the first team at just 17 years of age in the 2000/01 campaign. The following season, he continued to make sporadic appearances and carried his progression into 2002/03, even featuring for 15 minutes in the 3-2 UEFA Cup final defeat to Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto.

Injuries would prohibit Maloney from truly nailing down a guaranteed spot in the starting eleven, but that all changed in the 2005/06 season. That year, he made a career-high 43 appearances in all competitions, netting 16 goals, firmly putting himself in the shop window. Six months on from the end of that season, he would link up with former manager Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa, and went on to spend a year-and-a-half at Villa Park as a part of an exciting team led by Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and John Carew.

By the summer of 2008, Maloney was back at Celtic after returning for a £3m fee. He would spend four more years with the club, but injuries hampered his progress once again. By the time he left for Wigan Athletic in August 2011, the Scottish international had built up an almighty trophy haul consisting of five Premiership titles and three League Cups.

Charlie Mulgrew

Charlie Mulgrew of Celtic celebrates after scoring the third goal in the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Motherwell, at Hampden Park on May 21, 2011. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Central defender Charlie Mulgrew also came through the ranks at Celtic, but unlike Tierney and Maloney, he would never get his chance in the first team. After impressing throughout a six-month loan spell with Dundee United, the youngster caught the eye of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and they duly signed him in a swap deal for the experienced Lee Naylor.

Mulgrew was unable to break into the first team at Molineux, and by 2008, he was on the move again, this time back north of the border to Aberdeen. And it was with the Dons that the technical defender rose to prominence. Throughout his two years with the Dons, Mulgrew made over 80 appearances and scored ten goals, most of them being free kicks.

His exploits at Pittodrie caught the eye of boyhood club Celtic, and with his contract expiring, the Bhoys promptly swooped. Mulgrew returned to Parkhead on a free transfer, and across six years wearing the famed green and white hoops, he became one of the first names on the teamsheet. He made over 200 appearances for the club, scoring 28 goals, and earning himself a spot in the Scottish national team.

In 2016, Mulgrew left for Blackburn Rovers, once again on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract. By the time he did, he was a five-time Premiership champion.

Fraser Forster

07.11.2012 Glasgow, Scotland. Lionel Messi and Fraser Forster in action during the Champions League game between Celtic and Barcelona from Celtic Park.

Giant goalkeeper Fraser Forster is the first player on this list to have not come through the ranks at Parkhead. Instead, he was a highly thought of young shot-stopper at Newcastle United, but he would never make a senior appearance for the club, despite their relegation to the Championship. After a series of loan moves in the English lower leagues, the 6’7 keeper arrived in Glasgow in 2010, initially on a season-long loan.

Forster appeared in all but two games as Celtic won the league in his debut campaign, and that prompted the club to bring him back on another loan deal the following season. In 2012, the move was made permanent, with the Bhoys paying £2m to secure his services. He would remain with the club up until 2015, at which point Southampton paid a whopping £10m to take him to St. Mary’s.

By 2018, Forster had fallen out of favor somewhat, and he returned to Celtic on a season-long loan. By the time his temporary spell had ended, he had added a further 39 appearances to the 197 he had already amassed, as well as claiming his fourth Premiership title.