Former Celtic kid who made dream transfer to Bayern Munich left without club after contract ‘terminated’

Former Celtic kid who made dream transfer to Bayern Munich left without club after contract ‘terminated’

Barry Hepburn during a Scotland under 19 training session at Mar Hall, | SNS Group / SFA

The Scotland youth international was part of Celtic’s youth academy before moving to the Bundesliga giants in 2020

Former Celtic youth product Barry Hepburn is a free agent following his release from European powerhouses Bayern Munich.

The 20-year-old attacker, who completed a dream transfer to the Bundesliga giants at the age of 16, was unable to make a first-team breakthrough at the Allianz Arena after struggling to dislodge the likes of Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman from the starting XI in recent years.

Hepburn returned to his native Scotland on loan last season, joining Championship side Queen’s Park. His temporary spell with the Spiders was cut short last January after falling down the pecking order. Fast forward 12 months and the wide man has gained more competitive action with Bayern’s B-team before he was shown the door by the German club.

Now on the lookout for his next move, the Scotland youth international previously detailed how he was thrown in at the deep end, both on and off the pitch in Germany. Hepburn suffered a broken ankle within months of signing for Bayern before the Covid lockdown came into force.

Speaking to the BBC at the time, he said: “I was out for four months. I couldn’t train or go home to see my family. When I eventually got back, they cancelled the season.”

Hepburn would eventually get minutes under his belt with the youth squads but once he outgrew the under-19 set-up and entered Bayern’s second string he was allowed to leave on loan in order to gain more senior experience. He only completed 90 minutes on four occasions in the space of six months and moved to Austrian second division side DSV Leoben. He trained with the first-team group earlier this summer under the watchful eye of head coach Vincent Kompany before his departure was arranged. He stated: “Make sure the move benefits you and it’s not going to take you back two steps. If it makes you a better player, go for it. You might not make it, but you have a chance. As long as you have a chance, that’s all it takes.”

Bayern’s Campus social media account confirmed the move earlier this week, writing “The #FCBayern has terminated the contracts with Leon #Fust and Barry #Hepburn by mutual agreement. All the best for your future endeavors, guys! #MiaSanMia“

Meanwhile Hepburn’s former Celtic and Munich team mate Liam Morrison has played two games for QPR in the EFL Cup.