Former England international Steven Caulker has admitted that he wished he’d signed for Celtic four years ago, The Scotsman report.

Back in 2017, when Brendan Rodgers was the manager at Parkhead, centre-back Caulker was heavily linked with a move to Glasgow.

Caulker was 25 years of age at the time and The Scottish Sun believed he was set to become Rodgers’ latest signing.

However, as we know, a summer move never materialised and Caulker ended up leaving QPR by mutual consent at the end of the year.

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The Latest: Caulker’s comments

Talking to The Scotsman in an in-depth interview, Caulker, who Calum Butcher said is 'like Rio Ferdinand', addressed a possible move to Celtic in the past.

He revealed that he had the opportunity to join the Hoops, however, he stayed in London, a decision which he later regretted.

“The summer before it, 2017, I had an opportunity to go to Celtic which I turned down because I felt London and QPR were better for my recovery.

“A few months after that I was then out of the squad at QPR and we mutually terminated my contract. At that point, of course I thought I should have gone to Celtic.”

The Verdict: A dodged bullet?

Since leaving QPR, Caulker spent 18 months with Dundee where he made just 17 appearances and is now with Turkish side Alanyaspor, where he is on £12,000-a-week.

The Hoops continued to win trophies under Rodgers and then Neil Lennon, so really, Caulker’s Celtic snub didn’t affect things at Parkhead.

You could say it was even a dodged bullet, especially as he didn’t exactly take the Scottish Premiership by storm with Dundee.

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