Celtic star Benjamin Nygren has revealed he could have been the next big-money departure from Parkhead after an explosive debut season.
The Hoops revamped their Double-winning squad by waving goodbye to some of their biggest assets, raking in more than £45million in the process. And after his debut campaign, Nygren was also at the centre of serious transfer interest.
The Swedish forward slammed home 21 goals to help Celtic to league and Scottish Cup glory before landing a dream World Cup call-up. His blistering form, including nine assists, saw his stock skyrocket a year after his bargain £1.75m switch from Nordsjælland.
Interest from Europe's top leagues
Nygren was linked with some of Europe's top leagues, with Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton among the clubs lurking. While the 25-year-old has ambitions to play at the highest level possible, he insisted he was keen to remain at Parkhead.
He said: “Yeah, there was interest. Did it get more than interest? No, I play for a big club. When the right time is, I cannot answer that. That's up to me and the club and the potential club. So, whenever the right time is, it is. Like I said, I play for a huge club like Celtic. I really enjoy being here. I wanted to stay here to play in the biggest competition. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Champions League, but we still play in the Europa League. I want to make it better here and then go further in the Europa League, what we did last season. I wanted to stay here and continue to make it good. When the right time is, the right time is. But it's not something I think of. It's not my focus. My focus is just to do it as well as possible here and to win more trophies here. And then what happens in the future, we'll see.”
Focus on Celtic despite speculation
Despite the chance to treble his wages down south or abroad, Nygren says his head wasn't turned by the speculation. He said: “Not really, I would say. I think you've learned as a player, you cannot really think of it too much or focus on it too much. So I just try to focus on training as well as possible, play as well as possible. And you cannot control what happens in the future. So my focus has only been to do as well as possible for Celtic.”
Nygren strutted his stuff in the Europa League last season, but had a burning desire to pit his wits against the very best. But a shocking 5-1 collapse in Austria saw the Hoops' Champions League dreams ripped away for a second consecutive year.
He said: “I think the start has been good overall. Of course it was a big disappointment that we didn't make the Champions League. The way I see it, it's in the past now. We have to grow from it and learn from it. We cannot change it. All we can do is go into every game and try to win it, like we've done. And just continue like that.”
New arrivals lift pressure
Although Nygren's stats are off the charts - 41 goal contributions in 67 games - he still divides opinion among the Celtic fanbase. Critics say he often goes missing in games when he isn't finding the back of the net.
Yet the marquee arrivals of Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran have lifted some pressure off the talisman's shoulders, with goals now coming from all over the park. He said: "Of course it's always great when you have more players that are a big threat and can score a lot of goals. The more quality players we have, it's only good. I think the relationships, both me and Duran and me and Kasper, have been very good. We want to continue like that. Kasper's a great guy. I really him as a person. He is really positive and the way he thinks of things, I really like. He's a great player and we get on on the pitch and off the pitch."
Nygren has struck up a particular bromance with Hogh both on and off the pitch and believes his fellow Scandinavian has lifted the entire team. He said: “Yes, I think when you have quality players, the opposition need to respect it and give more focus to it. When he arrives in the box, they need to be close to him because he's a big threat. Then players around him can take advantage of that. I think not only Kasper has lifted the team, a lot of the other players that came have done it as well.”
Derby ambition
Nygren has scored against most SPFL opponents he's faced, but has yet to open his account against Rangers. And with away fans banned from all Glasgow derbies this season, Nygren would love to silence the home crowd at Ibrox tomorrow.
He added: "It would be very nice, but I'm a player who's not only scoring. I want to create a lot of chances and be a threat offensively. I didn't score, but I assisted in the games. If I can do that and the team wins, I'm happy. I go into every game to try to help the team as much as possible. Try to create chances for the team and be a threat offensively. That's what I will continue to do. I love playing in front of big crowds where it's loud and the energy is high. The way I see it, it's a lot of energy within the stadium. Even though they don't support us, you can take it to your advantage.”
