Charlie Mulgrew names his pick for next Celtic captain

By David Walton

April 28, 2021

Charlie Mulgrew believes that Callum McGregor is the man who should be given the Celtic captaincy post Scott Brown.

Brown is away to Aberdeen at the end of the season, meaning that the Hoops will need to replace him both on the field and in his captaincy duties.

Ismaila Soro looks best-placed to take Brown’s on-field position. However, who becomes the new captain will likely be a decision for the new manager to make. It could be the case, for example, that a new signing is brought in and is given the armband immediately.

But that would go against the general feeling that McGregor should step in and take the responsibility when Brown leaves. And speaking to Sky Sports today, Blackburn Rovers defender Mulgrew couldn’t help but talk up that prospect too:

“Callum McGregor is a stand out candidate if you are looking at the Celtic squad at the moment. I have played with Callum with Scotland and at Celtic. He is definitely the person you would imagine would step in as captain.

“The most important thing is he doesn’t try to copy Scott Brown and he does it his own way. If he is chosen to be captain it is because of how he has been acting, not the way he is supposed to act.

“He is not supposed to act like Scott Brown, he is supposed to be himself. I am sure Callum McGregor would be a great candidate, someone who would do it well and I am sure he would do it his own way and lead by example.”

Charlie Mulgrew joins the pro-Callum McGregor club; Celtic boss has a huge decision to make

You can see all the pros for McGregor to be the next captain. The arguments are there in black and white and it’s difficult to agree with them.

He’s 27 years of age and has been with the club since 2001. That’s 20 years of his life that he’s been attached to this football club.

Secondly, he’s done it all at Celtic. He’s won the quadruple-treble, experienced Champions League and Europa League football, is a regular for Scotland, and is set to feature at Euro 2020.

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

McGregor has also been one of the most upstanding players we’ve had this season. He’s taken on the weight of vice-captain superbly and consistently fronted up to the media when results have been poor. This has often led to honest and no-holding-back interviews in which McGregor has shown real courage and bravery to take part in.

However, he also isn’t guaranteed the armband by any stretch. We’ll have to take into consideration the fact that the new manager may not see Callum as the kind of captain he wants. McGregor would lead in his own style and of a different style to Brown. Therefore, it may not be a style the new gaffer wants to be leading his charges.

It’s not inconceivable that an alternative player is brought in to take the responsibility. What that does for squad harmony remains to be seen, but it’s certainly an interesting debate the closer we get to Brown’s departure.

In other news, a Sky Sports journalist’s tweet suggests Celtic are about to miss out on an EFL bargain.