Carl Starfelt has expressed his fondness for fellow Celtic centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, endorsing a permanent move for the American international.
Starfelt and Carter-Vickers have formed a formidable duo in the Celtic defence. Both brought to the club in the summer, they’ve been integral to the Hoops boasting the league’s best defence. 26-year-old Starfelt has more than played his part in that, winning 3.9 aerial duels a game in the Scottish Premiership. His 1.7 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 3.4 clearances have helped, too [WhoScored?].
Together, the duo have given Celtic real defensive solidity, while dominating in the air. That was a serious problem for the Hoops last season. And there’ll be Bhoys supporters worried about the pair splitting up in the summer.
In a press conference today, Carl Starfelt gave his take on working with Carter-Vickers, and the chance of him signing permanently. He said [Celtic FC]: “He’s a very good player, an easy player to play with.
“I think we’re getting better and better all the time. We have a very good connection on the pitch, and also outside of the pitch we have good communication. So I think we’re doing good right now.
“Yeah [I’d like to see Carter-Vickers sign permanently], of course I like to play with him, I think he’s done very good at the club.
“The rest is not really up to me! So we will wait and see.”
There’s real potential in the Starfelt/Carter-Vickers duo for Celtic, and the Swedish defender knows it
It can take a long time for defensive partnerships to gel, but Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers seem to have found a connection quickly. The two, when fit, are surely the obvious first-choice pairing in defence.
Even when Christopher Jullien comes back, that’s likely to remain the case. Really, you can’t split up a defensive unit that’s formed cohesion so quickly.
Starfelt is smart enough to realise how useful Carter-Vickers is alongside him. The two have adapted extremely well to Ange Postecoglou’s demands, with excellent pass completion percentage, and seldom being caught out in the league despite playing a high line.
For the two of them, it’s been a new kind of challenge. Both Starfelt and Carter-Vickers, though, have risen to it. Signing Carter-Vickers permanently would be a masterstroke by the club, given his cost, pedigree and potential to get even better.
There’ll be tough tests for the pair ahead. Bodø/Glimt and Rangers will surely both asks some questions of the Celtic defence in the coming weeks. However, all the evidence so far points to a profitable partnership.
Starfelt wants to keep that going.
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