Celtic goalkeeper Conor Hazard has moved to Championship side Dundee on an emergency loan. (BBC)
The 21-year-old Northern Irishman will move to the Dens Park club on a temporary basis to fill-in for Jack Hamilton who recently underwent surgery. It is not clear exactly how long Hazard will spend at the promotion hopefuls but he will be given a chance to impress by Dee boss James McPake.
The move has probably been a long time coming for Hazard who is widely understood to be the fourth choice keeper at Parkhead. The club’s decision to sign Fraser Forster, to add to two already experienced keepers in Craig Gordon and Scott Bain, has had many positives.
However, one negative is that it’s effectively given Hazard no chance of playing a minute of football for the first-team this season.
Dundee is a good fit for Hazard
Hazard spoke honestly about his short-term ambitions in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph last month.
He said: “I’ll see what Celtic have planned for me but if things don’t work out between now and January in terms of matches I would be looking to get more game time out on loan. If that happens hopefully I can get the right club for me.”
As it comes, Dundee are a pretty decent side to play for. The east coast club are chasing promotion this season and there are big expectations at Dens Park, so it seems like a pretty neat comparison to what he may face in the future with Celtic.
His side will dominate possession in most league matches and he’ll be forced to take a watching brief for the majority of his time – much like Fraser Forster at Parkhead.
Hazard must look to use this surprise chance to his advantage and return to Celtic a better player. Forster’s future beyond this summer is unclear while there are also questions over Bain and Gordon, so Hazard may not be quite as far away as some may think.
It’s time for him to really kickstart his career.
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