A club statement from Istanbul Basaksehir has confirmed today they will NOT be exercising their first option on Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli and he will be returning to Celtic.
The Belgian spent last season on-loan to the Turkish outfit and even played in the Champions League, however, a bad injury curtailed his season and Boli has been in recovery for the latter part of last term.
The official club site posted the following:
The contract of Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, who played successfully for one season under our orange-dark blue jersey, has expired.
Our club has decided not to exercise the purchase option in the rental agreement with Celtic FC.Â
We thank Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo for his efforts for our club and wish him success for the rest of his career.
Boli was fined by Celtic for breaking protocol and leaving the country when the players had to remain in their bubble last year. It set Celtic down a path of chasing our rivals, while Boli’s indiscretion wasn’t the ultimate cause of last season’s capitulation, it certainly didn’t help.
Neil Lennon and the club were fuming with the left-back, sending him out on loan at the time.
Boli now has a fresh start under Ange Postecoglou; it will be down to the Australian whether he chooses to keep Bolingoli at the club or move him on.
It’s going to be an interesting couple of months.
