Mohamed Elyounoussi on his Glasgow return plans and the former Celtic team-mate he admires most

Scorer of Norway’s third at Hampden on Sunday has ‘great memories’ from two years spent on loan at Celtic Park

Norway's Mohamed Elyounoussi celebrates after making it 3-3 against Scotland in Sunday's final Euro 2024 qualifier at Hampden. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

There was much chatter last summer that Mohamed Elyounoussi could return to Celtic where he had spent two seasons on loan in the wake of his departure from Southampton as a free agent.

And even if this did not transpire, the 29-year-old – a treble winner with Celtic across 2019-20 – still hopes to be back in his old stomping ground of Glasgow at some point in the future. The attacker is now with FC Copenhagen but was back in Scotland’s football capital last week as he netted Norway’s late equaliser in Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Steve Clarke’s team at Hampden that ended contrasting Euro 2024 campaigns for the pair. Yet, bringing the curtain down on his country’s failed quest for next summer’s German finals could only have Elyounoussi scrolling his mind back to successful days in the Mount Florida bowl – the winger netting twice in a 5-2 League Cup semi-final victory over Hibs in November 2019 before he bagged a winner’s medal in the subsequent showpiece victory over Rangers. Honour snaring that came as he was at Celtic at the same time as his weekend Scotland foes in Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor, Ryan Christie and Anthony Ralston.

And his stint on loan from Southampton leaves him keen to experience Glasgow again further down the road. Although in a different fashion than before. “It was great to see such nice lads,” Elyonoussi said. “Obviously we shared many great memories together. It’s always nice to be at Hampden Park again, I have nice memories of there and of course it’s always nice to score. As soon as we landed it felt like being back in the old days – especially with the rain as well… I thought, ‘Glasgow hasn’t changed too much!’ We also stayed in the same hotel we did with Celtic, so there were a lot of good memories coming back. I still stay in touch with some of the boys. There are a few still there from my time, like Callum, Jamesie [James Forrest] and Greg. I talked to them after the game and I still watch Celtic games. Even some fans are still in touch with me, and that is nice.

Celtic's Mohammed Elyounoussi celebrates with James Forrest after scoring against St Mirren during his loan spell from Southampton in October, 2019. (Photo by Bill Murray / SNS Group)

“I was only at the club for two years but I still felt like a long time because I enjoyed it. I only had six months with fans and the rest was without. That was something I really missed and it was something I was looking forward to, and that is why I stayed longer. But I have good memories on and off the pitch. They are good lads. I said to my wife it would be nice to come back and go to a game, see where we lived and just remember the good times.”

And in Forrest, Elyounoussi has an old team-mate who boasts a longevity not betrayed in his features he marvels over. “It’s amazing he’s 32 now – I wish I had those genes…” he said. “I have children and he doesn’t have any yet – so that’s a big minus for me…I have two under four so I have grey hair now. What a lad. He’s such a good guy, he’s very humble and it’s great to see he’s still going strong. I heard he’s scored in 15 seasons in a row. That is incredible and I don’t know if I will achieve that. He’s such a top professional I am not surprised he is continuing to do it. The only surprise is when people tell me his age – because he still looks so young…”