Irish midfielder signs two year deal with Levante after Celtic exit

While her former teammates are getting down to some pre-season sunshine training in Gran Canaria, former Celt Tyler Toland will be feeling the heat of the Spanish sun on a more regular basis.

Toland has signed for Primera Division club Levante, a side Celtic saw at close quarters last summer when they faced the impressive Spanish side in Champions League qualifiers, and the Irish international has penned a two-year contract with her new side.

Toland will be a miss to Celtic next season, but it’s difficult to stand in the way of a 20-year-old when an opportunity like this arises.

The midfielder joined Celtic in July 2021, following her departure from Manchester City and after a loan spell with Glasgow City, and was part of a successful side winning both domestic cup trophies last year.

Levante, who play at Ciudad Deportiva in Buñol, finished sixth in the Primera Division last season and are now managed by former Birmingham City player Mehdi Nafti, and include the superb Spanish midfielder Alharilla in their ranks, so you can certainly understand the pull for Toland when she has the opportunity to learn from players like that.

Celtic’s midfield will certainly miss Toland’s passing accuracy and her teammates her exceptional set-piece deliveries, but the midfield should not be weakened any after the fantastic news Lisa Robertson is back in the Celtic fold after a season on loan with Birmingham City.

And with Natalie Ross making her long awaited return from injury at the tail end of last season, it could be a case of the band getting back together for Fran Alonso’s midfield, who sorely missed the partnership between Ross and Robertson in the middle of the park last year. As whilst we were spoiled for choice with creative forces, we were also occasionally outmuscled in the engine room against more experienced and physical opponents.

There will be no chance of that happening next season with Ross and Robertson, both exceptional footballers, but also more than aware of the need to turn to the darker arts of the game on occasion.

Niall J

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As a Bellshill Bhoy I was taken to my first Celtic game in the summer of 1987. It was Billy McNeill’s return to Celtic Park as manager and Celtic lost 5-1 to Arsenal . I thought I was a jinx, I think my Grandfather might have thought the same. It was the finest gift anyone ever gave me when he walked me through Parkhead's gates.

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