Scottish champions Celtic continued the relentless defence of their league title with a 4-2 victory over Dundee United on Saturday afternoon, with the Outdated Agency outfit selecting up their twelfth win of the season to date to maneuver seven factors clear on the prime of the desk.
It had been removed from plain crusing at Parkhead on the day, nevertheless, with Ange Postecoglou’s aspect having been reliant on a dramatic late present from Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada to bail them out of bother, with it briefly trying as if the Tangerines had completed sufficient to nick some extent late on by means of Dylan Levitt.
The opposite goalscorer on the day for the guests had been that of former Scotland worldwide, Steven Fletcher, with the towering marksman changing from the penalty spot to keep up his spectacular report towards the Hoops, having now scored 5 objectives in 17 conferences with the Glasgow aspect in his profession to this point.
The 35-year-old has confirmed an everyday thorn within the aspect of these at Paradise through the years, though the veteran ace might nicely have turned out for the Bhoys if issues had labored out in another way, with the striker admitting that he had come near becoming a member of the membership up to now.
The ten-cap menace just lately mentioned the repeated hyperlinks relating to a possible transfer to Celtic, stating that:
“Earlier on in my profession after I was linked with Celtic I didn’t have a lot to do with it.
“At that age you simply depart it to brokers and all that, solely discovering issues out after they’re just about completed.
“So I don’t know the way shut it got here again within the early days, however earlier than I signed for Stoke that was the closest a transfer to Celtic got here. It didn’t occur ultimately and I’ll inform that story sooner or later!
“However I used to be linked with Celtic quite a bit through the years.”
Because the 6 foot 1 ahead alluded to, the Hoops have recurrently been linked together with his providers for over a decade now, with hypothesis having first begun after Fletcher burst onto the scene at Hibernian, with these at Celtic Park stated to have seen a bid rejected on the tail finish of the January window in 2009.
Reviews once more emerged in 2015 that then-boss Ronny Deila was eager to prise the Shrewsbury-born striker from Premier League outfit Sunderland, with the participant stated to be out there for a charge of round £2m.
No deal got here to fruition, nevertheless, – doubtlessly on account of the participant’s £50k-per-week wage – with Fletcher ultimately occurring to affix Sheffield Wednesday a 12 months later, following a quick, weird stint on mortgage at Ligue 1 aspect Marseille.
The imposing brute – who additionally plied his commerce for each Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers after leaving Easter Street – was once more near a transfer to Celtic Park again in the summertime of 2020 with the 2 events believed to be in talks, albeit with the previous Hibs ace finally becoming a member of Stoke Metropolis.
Now again in Scottish soccer at Tannadice, the £261k-rated man has made a strong begin to the season with 4 objectives and two assists in 15 video games in all competitions to date, whereas his total profession tally stands at 159 objectives at membership degree.
Such a formidable return ought to point out that Fletcher could nicely have been a hit for these in Glasgow had a deal ever come off, with it little question a supply of frustration that the membership’s obvious curiosity couldn’t result in an settlement being struck.