A PREMIER LEAGUE winger has revealed he was once on the brink of joining Celtic.
He has enjoyed a stunning career in England ever since he turned the Hoops down, winning the FA Cup in 2017 and finishing runner-up in the Europa League two years later.
Alex Iwobi is a mainstay in the English Premier League[/caption]
But he almost went down a different route in Scotland[/caption]
But Alex Iwobi could have added many more winners medals to his collection if he made a different decision on his career over a decade ago.
The Nigerian international, 28, came through the youth ranks at Arsenal and progressed his way up to the first team, making over 100 appearances in total for the Gunners before his exit in 2019.
The experienced wide-man has been ever-present in the English top flight having spent four years at Everton and now playing his football at Fulham.
However, he was once offered the chance to swap England for Scotland when he was a teenager.
Iwobi has revealed he felt his career was at a crossroads when he was just 16 and he wanted to leave Arsenal, with Celtic the most likely destination.
The £22million-rated winger admits he was “meant” to sign for the Hoops instead of agreeing a football scholarship in North London.
But he eventually got cold feet and decided to fight for his place at Arsenal instead.
Speaking to The Fulham Fix, Iwobi said: “When you actually have to leave school and it’s full time football, that’s when I thought ‘okay, it’s getting serious now that I need to buckle up’.
“At 16, I got told I had the option to leave Arsenal or go to another club or sign a scholar. So I was like, what do I do here?
“Because I mean, I couldn’t make, I just think of the decisions I made when I was 16 and none of them were sensible. You didn’t have an option to sign for Arsenal, I’m afraid.
“Everyone has different paths, but I’ve always had a great support system. Like my dad and my mum and my sister have always been around to say that.
“When I was younger, there’s many times I’ve been told, oh, you’re not good enough, you’re not good enough.
“And that was just another moment. I was the only one playing for England at the time that didn’t get offered a professional contract where there was like six of them.
“So I only just had a scholar and they said, ‘oh, if you want to go, you can go’.
“So I was meant to go to Celtic. I went to see Crystal Palace. I know there was one more team I can’t remember, but I remember going to Crystal Palace and training ground at 16.
“Me and my dad said ‘no, you’ve been in this position before where they said, you’re not good enough, go prove them wrong again’. So I was like, okay, cool, I’m going to sign my scholar.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
