Dwight Yorke was a top striker back in the day and helped Manchester United to lift a treble under Alex Ferguson, including a dramatic Champions League win over Bayern Munich in 1999. A phenomenal talent, Yorke forged a fantastic partnership with Andy Cole and it spearheaded United’s brilliant side of that era.
The Trinidad and Tobago international has now revealed that he could have also signed for Celtic at one point in time, when Martin O’Neill was looking to fill a very large Henrik Larsson shaped void in the Hoops attack. Yorke was a name that was spoken about within the club and they even made a move for the Champions League winner back then too.
Celtic’s manager Martin O’Neill at the match between Celtic and Hearts at Celtic Park on April 3, 2004 (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Playing for Blackburn Rovers at the time in 2004, the Irishman wanted to talk to Yorke about signing for the Bhoys and subsequently managed to agree a deal in principle. However, the former Aston Villa man changed his mind and decided to cross the divide and head to the Villians fierce city rivals Birmingham City. A move that he regrets still to this day in some respects.
Speaking on the negotiations with O’Neill and Celtic, he said: “I nearly joined Martin O’Neill’s Celtic permanently, it happened very quickly and in 17 years of my career, I had never played outside of the top English division, never been on loan or anything, as reported by Scottish Daily Express. “I was always around the first team from the time I joined Aston Villa. Celtic was and is a big club.
“I went to Celtic Park and I agreed to the terms and conditions, but then Birmingham City and Steve Bruce came in at the last minute. I knew Bruce quite well, but I was an Aston Villa man for 10 years so looking back on it, it probably was not a great call. I always wanted to stay and play in the Premier League, that’s why I turned down Celtic. In hindsight, going to Birmingham City was not a great call but it only lasted a short time.
The goalscorer did admit however that if he hadn’t did that then perhaps he may not have got to play for his country at a World Cup. He added: “Then I went to Australia where I got my passion back, came back to Sunderland and got them promoted to the Premier League then played in the World Cup. So if I went to Celtic, none of that might have happened.”
Paul Gillespie
