Eyebrows may have been raised when it emerged that Luca Connell had been told to train with the first-team on Tuesday, rather than play for Celtic in the SPFL Reserve Cup.
While his international teammates Barry Coffey and Jonathan Afolabi were part of the side that defeated Morton 4-2, Connell was instead training with the first-team squad as they prepared for the visit of Partick Thistle.
Connell is yet to feature for Neil Lennon’s side, competitively at least. He did play in the pre-season friendly against Rennes and looked decent enough, but clearly not quite at the level to merit a competitive start.
But Wednesday’s Betfred Cup clash against Partick Thistle could provide him with the ideal opportunity to get off the mark.
Connell could be the obvious option for Celtic
Neil Lennon has already hinted that the likes of Scott Brown and Callum McGregor could be due a rest in the game. If the pair do sit it out, you do wonder who could come in to replace them.
Olivier Ntcham is an obvious option but beyond that, there’s not a great deal. Nir Bitton is still out injured while Eboue Kouassi is unlikely to be in Lennon’s plans. That could mean that Connell is asked to enter proceedings.
Another player who could make a surprising inclusion into the matchday squad is Leo Hjelde. The Norwegian youngster was also pictured training with the first-team on Tuesday. It will be very interesting to see if he is in the dugout on Wednesday evening.
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