‘That’s Mint, But It’s Miles Away’ – Former EPL Star on Rejecting Celtic Move

Troy Deeney revealed that he came close to signing with Celtic before deciding to join Birmingham City.

During a conversation on the podcast Under the Cosh, Deeney disclosed that the Scottish giants had offered him a weekly wage of £40,000, a proposal he ultimately turned down for a significantly lower salary at Birmingham to stay closer to his family.

Deeney, who scored 47 goals in the Premier League, expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of playing for Celtic but cited family reasons for his decision to remain in England.

“No. Do you know what? If I’m being honest, I had two offers to go abroad, three offers to go abroad that were quite lucrative,” Deeney said.

“I had an offer to go to Middlesbrough with Neil Warnock, and then Celtic came in for me as well. And I was like, that’s mint, but it’s miles away.

“Again, now I’m getting to the point of 34, being around the kids. Oldest boy, he finishes this year, so he’s at that point where he needs me, becoming a man now. The girls need me. Like, no, I’m not moving.

“So, put it into perspective, those teams I’ve just mentioned offered me nearly £40K a week to go there. Ended up signing up Blues for 12 grand a week. But I was home.”

At the time, Ange Postecoglou was the manager, so it would’ve been interesting to see how he would’ve fitted in.

£40,000 a week is a lot to pay someone to be a back up striker, and with Kyogo already at the club, assumably, a starting role wouldn’t have been guaranteed.

Celtic made the deadline day signing of Giorgos Giakoumakis, and despite a challenging initial six months, he turned out to be a great signing for the Hoops, really stepping up while Kyogo was injured.

Some fans felt he left prematurely, but after 18 months he wanted to move on, so Celtic didn’t stand in his way. After moving to the MLS from Celtic, he’s now playing in Mexico. He seems a player who doesn’t settle at one club for a long time.