Celtic midfielder Eboue Kouassi still nowhere near first-team

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Eboue Kouassi’s prospects of a chance in the first-team still doesn’t look anything close to likely.

The Ivorian hasn’t played at all for Neil Lennon’s Celtic this season. That’s despite being back in training ever since pre-season in July.

Kouassi suffered a nasty ACL tear last year against Hearts in the Betfred Cup semi-finals. It kept him out for the entirety of the season, and we actually haven’t seen him play since.

It didn’t look great for him last week either. When Celtic faced Partick Thistle in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals, it seemed an ideal chance to get him some minutes. Lennon even made eight changes, but Kouassi still didn’t find himself a part of the first-team squad.

Celtic snapped the midfielder in training towards the end of last week. He was clearly in good spirits with Vakoun Issouf Bayo, but he’s been working away now for a couple of months without any first-team opportunities.

The midfield looks far too strong, but where does Kouassi fit in?

The departure of Youssouf Mulumbu looked positive for Kouassi in the summer. It moved him up one spot. However, Luca Connell was signed and it instantly looked as though he had more competition once again.

Worryingly, Celtic haven’t even been using Kouassi in the development squad to keep him match-fit. He hasn’t played a competitive game of football since that win over Hearts last October.

And as of right now, it’s difficult to see where he fits in. Lennon’s first-choice midfield pairing remains Scott Brown and Callum McGregor. If one of them needs to drop out, in comes Olivier Ntcham. Lenny can also mix things up and play Ryan Christie deeper, although that wouldn’t be a popular choice.

But the crux of the matter is that Lennon still doesn’t seem to have a place for the Ivorian midfielder in his matchday squads. There hasn’t been a sign that he’s ready to feature, or a comment from the manager on where he stands. At the moment he’s just there and isn’t being selected.

Kouassi could have his eye on the Winter months. Celtic can play up to nine games in December. Squad rotation will be a vital part of any success we accumulate. It’s not inconceivable to think a spot could open up for him there.

But there’s no getting away from it. Things look bad for Kouassi. Hopefully, we can get another sight of him before the Winter break.