The time has come for Shane Duffy to make the treacherous journey back down to the south coast of England after a tumultuous spell at Celtic Park; though he has at least gone with the best wishes of the fans, despite his admittedly poor form whilst donning the famous green and white.
The Irishman arrived on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion in early September, and having amassed a total of 91 Premier League appearances for the Seagulls – scoring 6 in the process – and 5 for Everton in his earlier playing career, it was fair to say that Duffy joined Neil Lennon’s squad with a healthy reputation; a reputation that looked sure to complete 10IAR for the Hoops’.
However, for one reason or another things didn’t workout for the Boyhood Bhoy, and with two dead rubber games to go in the season, Duffy has returned to his parent club ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Fans reacted in the right way towards the Derry-born defenders’ exit, though. Knowing that he went through family grief at the latter end of last season, the Parkhead faithful acknowledged that he hasn’t found the last 12 months easy, especially aggrieved due to the fact that fans are absent from stadiums this year – something Celtic benefit from massively.
I only wish he got to play in front of a packed out Parkhead. It wasn’t meant to be 💚🍀
— Nikki Gallagher 🍀 (@nikkigallagher_) May 7, 2021
It wasnt meant to be! Love and miss you bigman🍀💚 pic.twitter.com/X1LB40dUNZ
— Liam Morton (@Liam__Mortonn) May 7, 2021
Sad to see him go, hopefully he can return one day. Perhaps in a coaching role?
— Leishy (@R11Loading) May 7, 2021
All the best big man. Flung in at the deep end.
Green n White through n through 🍀🍀🍀🍀— Don Kideoni ⚽️🏴🇮🇪⚽️ (@ayremeraldcsc) May 7, 2021
It is sad to see Shane leave without contributing to a 2020/21 trophy – despite his 90 minute cameo in the penalty shoot-out win over Hearts in December – and hopefully the giant centre-back will make a return to the East End of Glasgow one day.
