Celtic defender Moritz Jenz has insisted he is looking to nail down a starting spot in the back four alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The German arrived at Parkhead this summer, adding to Ange Postecoglou’s defensive options for the season ahead.
Jenz has already made a big impact in the Hoops and looks to be another fantastic pick-up in the transfer market by the Celtic boss.
Coming into the new season, it was always going to be tough for any new player to break into the Bhoys’ starting 11, given how successful the squad was last campaign.
The new arrival from Lorient had arguably the biggest task of them all, replacing either one of Carter-Vickers or Carl Starfelt, who had been mainstays in the Celtic back four.
However, upon joining the Hoops, an opening arrived for Jenz, with both Stephen Welsh and Starfelt missing the early season fixtures through injury or illness.
It is fair to say that the ex-Fulham man has stepped up to the mark and shown why Postecoglou wanted to bring him to the club this summer.
Jenz now looks to be building up a solid partnership alongside the American internationalist, similar to Starfelt.
Speaking ahead of Celtic’s Champions League fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk, the defender stated how unfortunate it was for the Swedish centre-back to pick up another injury knock.
However, Jenz will now be looking to nail down his spot in the starting line-up and opened up on how much he enjoys playing alongside Carter-Vickers.
He said [Sun Sport]: “First of all, it is a shame Carl got injured because he’s a fantastic guy and a fantastic player.
“But for me, it is an opportunity to continue shining. I enjoy playing alongside Cameron a lot. We have a great relationship and a great partnership, too, I would say.
“We understand one another very well. We both have different strengths and different styles, and that makes us complement one another and work well together.
“You need that — a little bit of something different from both players — and that is what makes the partnership special.
“We have a great relationship off the pitch as well. We live close to each other, so we see each other quite often, then obviously in training too.
“We speak about a lot of diverse topics and have a lot of fun. He has a good sense of humour — but I don’t want to go into it too much!”
Jenz now has a big opportunity to secure regular Celtic spot
After a good run of games, followed by Starfelt’s latest injury knock, which will keep him out until October, Mortiz Jenz now has a big opportunity to nail down a starting spot.
As mentioned, the defender looks to be developing a solid partnership alongside fellow summer signing Cameron Carter-Vickers, and clearly, Jenz feels the same way about playing beside the American.
Not only could this period of games give the on-loan defender the chance to keep his starting spot, but also it could go a long way to show those at the club why we should make his spell at Parkhead permanent.
I am sure the central defender will be relishing the opportunity of continuing in the Celtic backline, starting with tonight’s huge Champions League fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou provides Oliver Abildgaard fitness update.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
