Pundit reveals Celtic move collapsed after club asked him to wait

Michael Stewart has revealed that Celtic explored signing him in 2007 before the midfielder instead completed a return to Hearts. The midfielder came through at Man Utd but did not break into the first team under Sir Alex, resulting in a return to Edinburgh.

Stewart was preparing to leave Hibernian when Gordon Strachan’s Celtic emerged as a possible destination. The Scotland international already had connections to figures at Parkhead, with former Hibs recruitment chief John Park having joined Celtic and several Easter Road players making similar moves.

Celtic’s interest, however, depended upon creating space within Strachan’s squad.

“There was a wee chance of that, but they were talking they would need to move on Jarosik and Gravesen,” Stewart explained.

“I felt like I had unfinished business, and I wanted to go back, so I decided to go back to Hearts,” he said.

Stewart subsequently spent three seasons at Tynecastle. The revelation provides another glimpse into Celtic’s recruitment operation during Strachan’s successful spell, when squad and wage considerations ultimately prevented a potential deal from progressing.

There were a number of rumours during Strachan’s time, especially the final year in which deals were close but collapsed culminating in Celtic losing the title on the final day.