He was wanted by Inverness, Dundee United and 'a host of clubs in England' but Anthony Stokes has decided to return to familiar scenery after finalising a loan move to Hibernian until the end of the season.
The Irish international has found himself on the periphery of things at Celtic Park this season and his relationship with manager Ronny Deila deteriorated significantly when he decided to let it be known that he wasn't overly happy to left out of the squad to face Inverness earlier this season.
It was always likely that the Dubliner would be leaving Parkhead during this transfer window and it was only a matter or where he would choose to go. Although he is thought to have had offers from the Scottish Premiership, he has chosen to drop down to the Championship to help Hibs with their promotion push.
Hibernian can confirm that Anthony Stokes has signed on loan until the end of the season. https://t.co/wLv5ut45xL pic.twitter.com/PSSAvKtHCZ
— Hibernian Football Club (@HibernianFC) January 19, 2016
This will be Stokes' second spell with Hibs after he previously bagged 24 goals for the Easter Road side during the 2009-10 season. Given that goalscoring record it's no surprise that the initial response from Hibs fans has been very positive.
With Hibs currently sitting in third place in the Scottish Championship, five points behind Rangers, an automatic promotion spot is not out of the question and Hibs boss, Alan Stubbs, is obviously delighted with the added firepower that Stokes brings.
Anthony is a fantastic footballer and will really strengthen the squad.
We have a number of options in attack and real competition for places which is what every manager wants. We are excited about Anthony coming here and I think he will prove to be a real asset.
Although it would seem that his Celtic career may be at an end, it would nonetheless be great to see Stokes be able to settle down, get back to playing football and reach something like the form that saw him become such a hot property when he was near unstoppable for Falkirk at the start of his career.
