Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has stated that popular centre-back Christopher Jullien could be in line for a first-team return “sooner rather than later”.
Jullien has been fit and available to play since January after over a year out with knee ligament damage. Despite that, he’s often been rooted to the bench as Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt have consistently been selected.
The former Toulouse man has also regularly been left out of matchday squads in the Premiership, with his only appearance coming in a 16-minute cameo against Raith Rovers at Parkhead last month.
With regards to breaking into the first-team and becoming a key figure, that still looks like being some time away for Jullien. However, Ange has given the fringe man a glimmer of hope as he hinted that his next opportunity could be just around the corner.
As quoted by The Herald, Ange said: “His opportunity might come sooner rather than later. Chris is in the same boat as everyone else here. He’s working hard in training and he’s waiting for an opportunity to try and take it.
“I haven’t ruled him out of anything. My view on the defensive area is that it’s important to have that cohesion between the centre-backs and the goalkeeper. Cam and Carl have been outstanding all year. That has meant that guys like [Stephen] Welshy and Chris have to be patient. Chris knows and understands that.”
Christopher Jullien isn’t a first XI pick for Celtic anymore
The situation when it comes to Jullien is certainly a strange one. We all know how good a centre-back he is, and the truth is it’s great to have an option like that in reserve if we need it.
What makes his return so unique is that we spent the vast majority of 2021 longing for his return. Given the disaster we endured last season and the defensive problems Ange had in the early stages of his tenure, Jullien was a player we were all desperate to see return.
However, over the last few months, Celtic have looked like a much more steadier ship. Starfelt and Carter-Vickers’ relationship has clearly blossomed. All of a sudden we have the best defence in the league with only 17 goals conceded in 29 games.
In addition to that, teams are barely receiving any opportunities to score against us. St Mirren didn’t get anywhere near our penalty box on Wednesday night, whilst Hibernian didn’t force Joe Hart into anything meaningful. This all comes from the protection in front of the goalkeeper.
We’re now into the final 9 games of an intense title-race. Swapping out a centre-back for another just because of his reputation feels naive and far too risky. Then again, Ange is clearly keeping his options open and has left the door ajar for an opportunity in the coming weeks.
You just wonder in what match Chris could slot in. Dundee United away in the Scottish Cup looks like an ideal clash, as does Ross County at Celtic Park in 2 weeks. It’ll be good to see how he copes with another first-team outing in any case, just so long as it doesn’t rock the boat too much.
In other news, The change everyone wants to see today; Celtic Predicted XI vs Livingston
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