Cameron Carter-Vickers has been Celtic’s best defender in recent years.
The 27-year-old joined Celtic when Ange Postecoglou was in charge, initially coming in on a loan deal, before making that move from Tottenham Hotspur permanent.
Throughout this season, Brendan Rodgers’ side just haven’t looked like themselves, and then you have the added off-field noise around the board.
But Celtic’s recent defeat to Dundee has now started to raise some worrying signs around Carter-Vickers’ game.
Cameron Carter-Vickers’ strength
With Auston Trusty just returning from injury, it has been Carter-Vickers playing alongside Liam Scales at the heart of defence.
Charlie Mulgrew noticed a worrying sign between the two, including how Carter-Vickers doesn’t look as strong at the back, after getting ‘pushed off the ball’, as he told Go Radio.
“For me, the centre-halves are touching the ball far too many times,” said Mulgrew. “Iheanacho hardly had a touch of the ball against Dundee.
“Carter-Vickers wasn’t looking as strong. I saw somebody push him off the ball. It’s so unlike him. I saw somebody beat him. When confidence is low, everything can look bad. Your pace, strength and passing ability.
“Scales passed a couple off the park. But he has been the best player this season, by a mile, how good he has been defensively.”
Carter-Vickers’ stats for Celtic this season
Celtic did sign Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on loan from Manchester City this summer, as many wondered if he was coming in to challenge Carter-Vickers.
But the Manchester City youngster hasn’t seen the light of day, and nobody is really pushing Carter-Vickers for a starting spot.
This is how the American has fared during the early months of the season.
- Premiership games: 7
- Clean Sheets: 4
- Yellow cards: 1
- WhoScored rating: 7.14
- Europa League games: 2
- Clean Sheets: 0
- Yellow cards: –
- WhoScored rating: 6.54
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