Celtic Tried to Sign Me Twice – EPL Striker’s Parkhead Regret

Billy Sharp recently disclosed that Neil Lennon, the former manager of Celtic, had attempted to recruit him to the club on two occasions.

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During Lennon’s initial tenure at Celtic, Sharp, then a player for Southampton, was considered as a potential successor to Gary Hooper, who was on his way to Norwich in 2013. Despite rumors of Sharp nearing a deal with Celtic and frequent discussions with Lennon, the move never materialised, and the club ultimately brought in Teemu Pukki, followed by Leigh Griffiths in the next transfer window.

Years later, in an effort to secure the historic ten-in-a-row, Lennon renewed his interest in Sharp, who by then was playing for Sheffield United.

Reflecting on this period, Sharp expressed a sense of missed opportunity for not joining Celtic.

However, he admitted his reluctance to relocate to Glasgow during a season impacted by the Covid pandemic, which had led to matches being played without fans, significantly influencing his decision.

Sharp told No Tippy Tappy Football: “Neil Lennon was ringing me quite a lot.

“I was at T in the Park once, flying back and I opened up the back page of the ‘paper. It said: ‘Sharp is a ‘Tic’ and I was like: ‘Wow, I didn’t know it was that close.’

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“I could have signed then but then the nexttime was in Covid. I was in the Premier League with Sheffield United and I spoke to Chris (Wilder).

“He was like: ‘Look, you’re not playing at the minute so you can go, it’s your call, blah blah blah.’ Yeah, there would be the Celtic-Rangers game and whatever, a great stadium, unbelievable club – but there were no fans. And I would be leaving Sheffield United.

“He (Lennon) was ringing me while I was in London and maybe that’s the one that I should have probably gone.

“But I think my heart took over again with Sheffield United, the loyalty to Sheffield United. Celtic was the probably the one that people probably don’t know about.”