Celtic goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist appears to have confirmed his imminent departure from the club during this summer transfer window.
Having been signed under previous manager Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2022, the 32-year-old has since made just two appearances for Celtic, during a time when he appeared to be third choice between the sticks – in both Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers' set-ups – behind Scott Bain and the now departed Joe Hart.
It's expected that Celtic will replace the now retired Hart with another first-choice stopper, leaving Siegrist without much hope in securing the Hoops number one jersey as his own.
In a thorough interview with Swiss-German-language publication Blick, as reported by the Daily Record, the goalkeeper explained that his partner, radio host and TV personality, Brittany Hockley, can continue her media work away from her native Australia.
Siegrist has alluded to retiring in Australia further down the line, but appears keen at this stage to continue his career somewhere in Europe.
He said: "After my last day at work, I’ll leave as soon as possible. And I’ll never come back here (to Celtic).
"No. I’m going to retire there (Australia). But not yet. Britt has already indicated that she could do her podcast from Europe. We’re excited."
Earlier this month, The Celtic Way's Tony Haggerty wrote about the need to replace the outgoing Joe Hart sooner than later, a fact that likely remains the case whether Siegrist decides to stay or not.
You can read Tony's feature in full by following the link above, but here's an excerpt in the meantime:
"What Hart proved is that Celtic needs to splash out an experienced goalkeeper. There is no substitute for experience. The last line of defence is the bedrock upon which the rest of the team is built. The spine of any successful team starts with the goalkeeper. His level of capture has to symbolise stability. Celtic are building for the future. There is no room for short-termism when it comes to goalkeepers.
"Ironically Celtic failed to nail down Forster on a long-term deal for the ill-fated 2020/21 season and brought in Greek international Vasilis Barkas for a fee of over £5 million. Barkas was an unmitigated disaster in terms of recruitment for Celtic.
"That much is true. These things happen. The men in green and white got their fingers burned on that particular deal. However, that should not deter the Celtic hierarchy or make them think twice about shelling out a similar fee for Hart's replacement."
