The noise around Andy Robertson and a possible Celtic return has picked up since he confirmed he will leave Liverpool this summer. It is an easy link to make, but Charlie Mulgrew has cut through it.
Mulgrew knows exactly where Robertson stands when it comes to Celtic. He came through the club’s academy and has never hidden his support, even after being released before reaching the first team.
There is no doubt about the pull. The issue is everything around it.
Mulgrew pointed straight to the finances. No transfer fee softens it slightly, but wages are where the deal quickly becomes complicated.
Kieran Tierney is already back at the club and sits among the top earners. Bringing in another left-back on a similar level would be a stretch, and not just financially.
Mulgrew said (talkSPORT):
“I think he would go to Celtic. I don’t want to speak for him, but I’d imagine being a Celtic fan is a great opportunity for him at 32.
“He’s still got a lot to give, but I don’t think can Celtic afford to put a budget in two left backs of Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson.
“I don’t imagine Celtic will want to pay the two left backs the biggest wages. I think if Celtic are going to put wages like that towards a player, it’ll be a forward area.”
That is the reality of it. Robertson’s desire is one thing, the squad balance is another.
Celtic do not build squads by stacking wages in one position. Two high-earning left-backs would skew things badly, no matter how good both players still are.
Celtic defender Kieran Tierney
5th April 2026; Dens Park, Dundee, Scotland; Scottish Premiership Football, Dundee versus Celtic; Kieran Tierney of Celtic
There are bigger priorities.
The forward line has been blunt for long stretches. Daizen Maeda has not hit the same level, the wide players are offering very little, and the January loan additions have made no impact worth talking about.
If there is serious money to be spent, it is going there.
Marcelo Saracchi has filled in behind Tierney this season and done his job. He returns to Boca Juniors in the summer, but there would be little resistance among supporters to keeping him as the back-up option instead of reshaping the wage structure entirely.
That says everything about where the focus needs to be.
Recruitment across the pitch looks necessary. There are questions around the manager, the board, and the overall direction. It is not a small fix.
Against that backdrop, a move for Robertson feels more like sentiment than strategy.
Celtic still have a league title and Scottish Cup to fight for. It is tight, it is scrappy, and it will take grinding it out. The wider decisions at the club come very soon after that.
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