It was a debut campaign to remember for Benjamin Nygren at Celtic.
Not only did he win two trophies, but he was also Celtic’s top scorer, including 15 goals from his 33 Premiership matches.
Yet Chris Sutton didn’t want to put the Sweden international into his Premiership Team of the Season, citing the player’s lack of quality outside of his goalscoring.
In an unexpected twist, the one man who did fight Nygren’s corner and put the attacking midfielder in his TOTS is Kris Boyd.
Boyd: “I know the big man (Sutton) has had his moments with Benjamin Nygren for going missing during the season. I get it. I do. I understand it.
“But to have scored, I think that’s now 16 goals from midfield, is incredible.”
Sutton: “I am not sure about Nygren, other than his goals. His contribution, I always think, he slows things down in Celtic’s midfield, so I am sadly not going to have Nygren.”
- READ MORE: Joe Hart, Adam Idah and Benjamin Nygren show their support for Kasper Schmeichel after retirement
Pick one player to sell for ‘£20m’ this summer. Engels or Nygren?
Who you picking and why, Celtic fans…
Chris Sutton puts Cammy Devlin ahead of Benjamin Nygren in his Team of the Season
Yes, Nygren needs to do more with the ball and provide some much-needed energy without it.
But you simply can’t dismiss his 15 goals just like that. Not only did he win Celtic the most points this term, but you wonder where the team would be without them.
What’s interesting is that when Sutton named his Team of the Premiership Season on the Warm-Up, he put Hearts’ combative midfielder Cammy Devlin ahead of Nygren.
Boyd: “I know the big man (Sutton) has had his moments with Benjamin Nygren for going missing during the season. I get it. I do. I understand it.
“But to have scored, I think that’s now 16 goals from midfield, is incredible. When you look at Celtic throughout this season, there are moments where you think to yourself, ‘they are really, really struggling.’
“The one at Falkirk, he got a winner that night as well. There have been big moments from Benjamin Nygren.”
Sutton: “I am not sure about Nygren, other than his goals. His contribution, I always think, he slows things down in Celtic’s midfield, so I am sadly not going to have Nygren.
“I am going to have Cammy Devlin and his influence for Hearts.”
Boyd added sarcastically: “And the way he speeds the play up.”
Fix those around Nygren…
With or without Nygren, this Celtic side, and especially the midfield, is in decline this season.
Yes, you want more from the Swedish star, but it’s not his game to be a nuisance without, like Scott Brown, or run the show like Reo Hatate at his peak.
That doesn’t mean you don’t demand more; you still do.
But how about fixing those around Nygren first?
Hatate fell off a cliff, Arne Engels still divides opinion, Callum McGregor lost that controlling spark, Paulo Bernardo hardly played, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain isn’t the same player.
If the midfield around Nygren improves tenfold, then it will allow Nygren to work his magic, and that’s cause havoc in the final third and score even more goals for fun!
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
