Irish international Darren O'Dea has left Celtic temporarily once again as he signed for Leeds United on a season-long loan deal. It is just another sign that the Irish defender has no future at Celtic Park, after successive loan spells at Reading and Ipswich Town.
He made the move to Simon Grayson's Championship side as he looks forward to helping the Elland Road side back into the Premier League.
After joining Celtic as a trainee in August 2005, O'Dea made 103 appearances for the Parkhead side, 25 of those as a substitute, scoring six times.
He made his first team debut in 2006 in a CIS Cup game against St.Mirren, and scored the opening goal of the CIS Cup Final 2-0 win against Rangers. He also starred in the Champions League Last 16 tie against AC Milan.
O'Dea told United's official club website: "I'm delighted to be here. I'd been looking to get away and as soon as I heard of Leeds' interest I had no doubts.
"I played in the Championship with Ipswich last season and it's a very competitive division. Teams at the bottom can beat teams at the top and it's a test I'm really looking forward to.
"I'm hoping to achieve what everyone here is hoping to achieve - promotion. 20 teams will be aiming for that, but the players here did well last season and I hope I can bring a bit more to that."
He could make his debut on Saturday in Leeds' opening game of the new Championship season at Southampton on Saturday.
O'Dea added: "Hopefully it'll be straight into it. I didn't see Southampton last season, but they will come up with a winning mentality and it will be a tough game.
"It's a nice stadium, there'll be a good atmosphere, and we're looking to do well."
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Andy Muirhead is the Editor of Scotzine.com and produces the Scottish Football show The Final Whistle for Pulse 98.4FM. He also works on a freelance basis and has contributed to the Daily Record, The Scotsman, the Daily Mail and hasfeatured on BBC Radio Scotland and Sports Tonight TV.
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