Joel Mvuka Returns to Bodo/Glimt After Celtic Spell

Joel Mvuka has drawn a firm line under his brief Celtic chapter and gone back to the club where his career first caught fire, signing a four-year deal with Bodo/Glimt – and openly conceding he arrives short of game time.

The 23-year-old winger, who joined Celtic on loan from Lorient last season, never managed to carve out a regular role in Glasgow. His only start for the Hoops came in the Scottish Cup against Dundee, a low-key outing that never became a springboard.

He did get a taste of the biggest fixture on the Scottish calendar, coming off the bench in the Scottish Cup Glasgow derby win over Rangers at Ibrox on 8 March 2026. But that was as close as he came to the Premiership spotlight. Not a single league appearance followed before he was sent back to Lorient in the summer.

For a player in his early 20s, those months bit hard. Mvuka doesn’t hide it.

“I haven't played very much, but I feel like I have gained good experience even though I didn't get to play many games,” he told The National, reflecting on his time away. “I can take that experience with me. I have also become older and more experienced and I have returned as a better player.”

So he has chosen familiarity and opportunity over uncertainty. Bodo/Glimt know him, and he knows them. This is a reunion built on memories of momentum, not nostalgia.

“It's great to be back. I'm doing well and have improved since I was last here,” he said. “I had a pretty good time in Glimt. I made a lot of friends, had a good time both on and off the field. That's something I took into account when coming back.”

The Norwegian champions have grown since he left. So has he. That mutual progression is what tempts him to believe this second spell can be even better than the first.

“I've been following Bodo/Glimt since I left and I've seen that they've become a much better team,” Mvuka added. “It would have been cool to get into the league phase of the Champions League two years in a row. It's a good match between me and the club.”

For Celtic, his departure closes a loan that never truly got started. For Mvuka, Bodo/Glimt now offer what he has been missing most: a run of games, a defined role, and the chance to prove that the player who left Norway with promise can return as a finished article rather than a footnote.