Celtic reportedly extended the contract of Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm before he headed on a year-long loan deal with Major Soccer League side Los Angeles FC…
Holm arrived at Celtic in a £2.6m transfer from Norwegian side Valerenga in June 2023 – the month Ange Postecoglou left for Tottenham before Brendan Rodgers returned to the club with a series of summer transfers in the pipeline, few of whom have impresses the manager enough to merit regular game-time.
Holm’s contract was initially running until June 2028
Holm’s contract runs through to June 2028 with the extra year gives him plenty of time to break into the Celtic team and make his mark. Whether that will be under Brendan Rodgers or another manger altogether, we won’t know until there’s news on a contract extension for the current Celtic manager who has just one more season to run on his own three-year deal.
Why Odin Holm added Thiago as a middle name
Back in 2017 Odin Holm made an application to the Norwegian resident registration to take Thiago as a middle name. The name change was based on the fact that he has the football player Thiago Alcântara as a role model.
The Herald report this week indicates that Odin Thiago Holm still has confidence in being able to make an impact at Celtic and that is where he sees his long-term future in the game. In his time at Celtic he has been plagued by a series of injuries and of course he could a rather bitter introduction to the harsh reality of football at the top level when he came off the bench for Celtic in Rotterdam against Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League and was quickly shown a red card.
Holm did play at Ibrox in Celtic’s 1-0 win in September 2023
He did play well for a makeshift Celtic side at Ibrox in early September 2023 when despite the injury crisis, a deadly Kyogo strike separated the sides and gave Brendan Rodgers his first Glasgow Derby win since his return to Scottish football.
In total Holm has played 16 times for Celtic with many of those coming from the bench. Not a great return on investment so far for Celtic but he seems to be a player that Brendan Rodgers deems worthy of extra patience.
This is unlike some of the other summer 2023 signings Rodgers inherited in the summer 2023 transfer window, who look set to leave the club this summer. Included in that list are Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma and Maik Nawrocki who is the only one who is not currently out on loan.
“I still want to go back to Celtic and play, that’s the goal,” Odin Thiago Holm
“I still want to go back to Celtic and play, that’s the goal,” Holm said this week. “I signed a new contract before I left for LA. The aim is still to come back and be successful for Celtic and win trophies, just like the current team.”
The Norwegian midfielder added: “I am confident in my own ability to do that, and I still see my future at Celtic. I just need to get consistency in the work that I do.
“I have struggled with some injuries up until now, but I came to Los Angeles to play and to gain experience and to gain consistency and make myself ready for when I return to Celtic and be part of the team.
“I am contracted to the club until 2028, and there is still time to make my mark”
“I am contracted to the club until 2028, and there is still time to make my mark. I watched the club playing Champions League football this season and doing well at that level, and that is where I want to be with Celtic and helping them succeed.
“I want to come back and relaunch my Celtic career. My thoughts are still very much that the club still believes I have a future there,” he stated.
Most Celtic supporters reckon that Holm has real potential but so far has failed to show any signs at all that he is robust enough to play for Celtic either domestically or in the the UEFA Champions League.
If he can bring that to his game in the MSL this year then he may well have a chance. Whether that’s going to happen remains to be seen but for now he has to play well and play regularly for Los Angeles FC.
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