Trevor Carson has opened up on just how close he came to becoming a Celtic player in 2018, revealing that an agreement was effectively in place before the move dramatically fell apart.
The former Motherwell goalkeeper emerged as a target for Brendan Rodgers during the January transfer window eight years ago, when injuries to Craig Gordon and Dorus de Vries left Celtic searching for reinforcements between the posts.
Carson’s performances at Fir Park had caught the attention of the Scottish champions and, despite growing up as a Rangers supporter, he was ready to make the switch to the Hoops.
A fee had been settled between the clubs and Carson believed he was heading to Celtic Park for his medical, only for Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson to intervene after plans to bring in a replacement goalkeeper unravelled.
Looking back on the episode with The Herald, Carson joked: “I still haven’t forgiven Robbo for that!”
“He’ll tell you otherwise; he’ll tell me he did me a favour, and that I wouldn’t have been able to go back home anymore if I signed!
“That was a turbulent couple of days. Genuinely, the deal was done. Everything was agreed. Motherwell had agreed the fee.
“Freddie Woodman was coming up [to Motherwell], and I still blame Joe Lewis because he got injured that day in training for Aberdeen and then Freddie ended up there.
“The window shut on the Tuesday or Wednesday and we were playing Hibs that night. I was sat in the Turkish barbers at about midday thinking I’m going to Celtic Park to do a medical.
“Next thing I get a call off Alan Burrows (Motherwell CEO) saying, ‘You need to come into the ground’.
“Burrows, Robinson and I were in the office, and Robbo was like, ‘I’m resigning if you sell him, because it’s too late for us to get a replacement.’
“No disrespect to Russ Griffiths, who was the number two at the time, but Robbo was just like, ‘We can’t afford to go with just Russ.’
What followed provided one of the more remarkable twists of that January window.
Carson remained at Motherwell and was selected to face Hibernian that same evening, while the man who would ultimately take his place as Celtic’s new goalkeeper was sitting in the opposition dugout.
He continued: “The mad thing is that I ended up playing that night and Scott Bain was on the bench for Hibs. He had been on loan from Dundee to Hibs. Then after the game it was him that got the taxi over to Celtic Park and signed the deal.
“Brendan Rodgers rang me the next day. We had a good chat. He spoke to me for about 45 minutes. He was amazing; he said, ‘Listen, I’d have loved for this to happen’, but that’s the way football works.
“Scott Bain ended up getting the opportunity, did really well, and ended up staying there for six or seven years.
“Everything happens for a reason, though I haven’t quite worked out the reason for that one yet!”
Bain would go on to enjoy a lengthy spell at Celtic after arriving initially on loan, while Carson continued his career away from the Scottish champions following the collapse of the proposed transfer.
Now retired after officially calling time on his playing career last month, Carson has also revealed that Rodgers has not forgotten how close they came to working together.
The Celtic boss was among the first people to contact the former Northern Ireland international after news of his retirement was confirmed, eight years on from the phone call that followed his failed move to the Hoops.
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