Joel Mvuka transfer takes fresh twist after difficult Celtic loan spell
The 23-year-old has travelled to the Netherlands to finalise his move, with Bodo preparing to face NEC Nijmegen in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
Mvuka has been completely uninvolved during Lorient’s pre-season and, with only a year remaining on his contract, now looks set to return to the club he left for France three years ago.
It brings another twist to a Celtic move which initially looked very different.
Mvuka travelled to Glasgow in January with a permanent £3million transfer in place and was set to become Martin O’Neill’s first signing of the window.
However, his medical flagged a pre-existing heart condition and Celtic subsequently renegotiated the deal into a loan with an option to buy.
His spell in Glasgow never got going.
Mvuka was handed a surprise start against Dundee in the Scottish Cup fourth round but struggled and was replaced at half-time.
He subsequently disappeared from the first-team picture before being unexpectedly brought back into the side for the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox around a month later.
That proved to be his final Celtic appearance, with the winger failing to make another matchday squad before returning to Lorient at the end of the season.
Mvuka could now make a swift return to Champions League football with his former club.
Bodo face NEC for a place in the league phase and, should both the Norwegian champions and Celtic progress through their respective play-offs, there is even the possibility of Mvuka coming up against the Hoops later this season.
His expected return also continues a familiar trend at Bodo, who have repeatedly brought former players back after moves abroad failed to work out.
Patrick Berg, Jens Petter Hauge, Nikita Haikin, Fredrik Andre Bjorkan and Hakon Evjen are among those to have returned to the Arctic Circle after spells elsewhere.
Celtic supporters will hope Kasper Hogh does not eventually follow the same path after the striker moved in the opposite direction this summer, joining the Hoops as Bodo/Glimt’s record sale.
