Luke McCowan is one of the most popular players at Celtic, even though he isn’t a first-team regular.
On Sunday, Celtic saw off Partick Thistle to book their League Cup semi-final ticket, with McCowan coming off the bench and scoring.
It was another reminder from McCowan of what he is capable of, but could he fix a certain issue for Brendan Rodgers?
That was discussed by Ian McCall, a man who brought him through as a youngster, including the conversations they had with one another at Lawrence Shankland’s wedding.
Luke McCowan on the ball at Celtic
Celtic have had issues out wide, and you could argue there is still an issue on the right flank, but McCall thinks McCowan could be the answer.
McCall coached Celtic’s all-action midfielder at Ayr United, and he explained that he was an ‘absolutely brilliant dribbler’ of the ball, but he no longer does that, as he told BBC Radio Scotland.
Mainly under Rodgers, he has deployed McCowan as a number eight, but McCall feels he can play out wide because that’s where ‘Celtic have been lacking a little bit.’
“I don’t think I have the reputational weight to phone Brendan Rodgers and offer a bit of advice,” said McCall.
“But when I brought Luke McCowan through, I was talking to Luke at Lawrence Shankland’s wedding. We always played Luke on the right-hand side of a front three, which is where Celtic have been lacking a little bit, both sides, until they made signings.
“He is an absolutely brilliant dribbler of the ball. He didn’t stay wide. He always came into little pockets of space and tried to get on the ball inside the pitch and stuff.
“But I don’t see him dribbling anymore. It’s something I love to see, it’s something supporters love to see. I always thought he would have been an option to play there in the Celtic team, to push further on and make things happen on that right-hand side.”
McCowan’s dribbling stats
Looking at McCowan’s stats, since joining Celtic and at his previous club, Dundee, he used to do more on the ball at Dens Park.
Of course, one of the reasons behind that is the fact that a lot more goes through him because he is the bigger fish in a smaller pond.
But perhaps Celtic could look to provide more chances to McCowan, not just in the middle, but out wide, because his performances are deserving of it.
- Celtic (25/26): 0.4 total dribbles per match
- Celtic (24/25): 0.8 total dribbles
- Dundee (24/25): 2.7 total dribbles
- Dundee (23/24): 2.1 total dribbles
- Dundee (21/22): 2.3 total dribbles
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