Could It Be: Larsson to Return?

By: JT | December 17th, 2007

A fun rumor that has the Celticnet all aflutter is that Henrik “The King” Larsson is contemplating a return to Celtic Park (relevant portions about halfway down) for the second half of the season now that his 18-month contract with hometown club Helsingborgs IF has run its course.

The great man is currently on holiday, and has remained quiet on what his future plans are. He could retire, but he’s been scoring goals in the UEFA Cup for recently eliminated Helsingborgs, and Sweden have left the door open for him to join them at Euro 2008. Bottom line: he can still play.

Word on the street is that he doesn’t want his last goal at Parkhead, which sealed Barcelona’s win over the Celts, to be his last. I’m as nostalgic as the next guy, but its difficult to imagine The King returning to Celtic, mainly because the reason he left Barcelona in the first place, and then Manchester United after his loan deal expired, was for his family to be comfortable at home in Sweden. I’ll allow myself to dream for a little while on this one, but not too long.

Speaking of homecomings, Shaun Maloney has nixed his widely anticipated return to Celtic Park. He really needed another year to hone his skills in Scotland anyway, so its not surprising that its taken him about that long to acclimatize south of the border. He’ll soon be the player we all know he’s capable of becoming.

Aiden McGeady is set to miss the massive clash with Rangers on January 2. The Irishman picked up his sixth yellow card of the season on Sunday, which if deemed a “three point” yellow card by the referee in his report, will require a one match ban. The severity of the incident that warrants a yellow card is determined by the ref on a scale of one to three, but McGeady squared up to Caley Thistle’s Ian Black immediately following the challenge, so he’s likely to get the full punishment.

Celtic have tabled a bid for Sevilla’s German international right fullback Andreas Hinkel. Hinkel signed for Sevilla from VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2006 under the impression that playmaker Dani Alves (to merely call him a defender or a fullback is an insult to the way he plays the game) was heading for greener pastures. Alves is still with Los Rojiblancos, and Hinkel is looking for a new place to ply his trade. Celtic have submitted a ₤2.1m offer which has been accepted, but they’re waiting to see Hinkel’s response to the move after he talks to Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. The lure of Champions League football will be too great, methinks. If you’re familiar with Hinkel, fill us in!