Celtic loanee is wowing fans down in England who want him signed permanently

By David Walton

January 11, 2022

Tranmere Rovers supporters have been bigging up the impact made by Celtic loanee Lee O’Connor in recent weeks.

O’Connor was sent out for this second consecutive spell with Rovers after spending last season with the League Two club. And after a ropey start to the season in which he struggled for minutes under Micky Mellon, he’s now one of the key contributors of their 6-game winning run.

Indeed, the Ireland Under-21 international has been operating in several different positions this season. Either as a right-back or in a defensive midfield role, O’Connor has been making a big impact and catching the eye of their fanbase.

It comes after a difficult summer in which Lee wasn’t able to make a breakthrough under Ange Postecoglou. Despite being one of the only right-backs at the club in the early stages, Ange was hesitant to put his trust in the player as he was quickly farmed out once more.

Signed by Neil Lennon back in the summer of 2019, O’Connor has yet to even play a competitive game for the club.

Lee O’Connor doing what he needs to with Tranmere Rovers

It’ll be interesting to see whether Lee can keep providing some consistency regardless of where he plays on the pitch. He was sent to the League Two club to gain more first-team appearances and impress. He’s doing both.

It’s also worth mentioning the performances of Ross Doohan also. He’s featured in 7 games along with O’Connor whilst managing to bag 5 consecutive clean sheets.

But it’s O’Connor in which supporters appear to have really been taken aback by. His ability to efficiently negotiate any role he’s given by Mellon is certainly impressive. His versatility is being utilised consistently, and it’ll be interesting to see if it gives Ange something to think about this summer.

For now, the Irishman needs to ensure that he brings his form into the new year and manages to have just as impressive a second half of the campaign as he’s had in recent months.

At the moment, it’s clear he’s winning the hearts of the supporters. Here, we take a look on Twitter to see just what the Rovers fans are making of the Celtic loanee:

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