Dedryck Boyata’s future at Parkhead looked bleak before Saturday, but now it might be secured for the short-term.
That’s because he put in such a horrendous performance that you wonder who’s going to want him.
The Belgian was back to being a nervous wreck in Celtic’s biggest game of the season. Despite being the man many tipped to dominate Alfredo Morelos alongside Filip Benkovic, both men caved in poorly.
Benkovic wasn’t much better if we’re all being honest. He looked nervy and almost as if the occasion was getting to him before the injury. Boyata, however, was just awful from start to finish.
It can’t be easy playing alongside a goalkeeper with Craig Gordon’s distribution. The Hoops number one made a host of fine stops throughout the game. As for his kicking, however, the less said the better.
Yet, whenever Boyata is closed down at any sort of pace, he panics. Or at least he certainly does in this fixture anyway. It sparked memories of his awful performance in the 3-2 win at Ibrox last March. His mistake for Josh Windass’ goal was carbon copied as he gifted the ball straight to Ryan Kent.
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Craig Gordon saved Dedryck Boyata’s blushes on Saturday
Fortunately for the Belgian, Gordon was on top of his game in terms of shot-stopping.
But it simply couldn’t have helped him in terms of big-name suitors. The likes of Lyon would’ve been instantly looking trough their shortlist with a big cross through Boyata after seeing how he performed under some real pressure.
There was speculation in the last couple of months about the big defender getting ready to sign a new contract. There’s been no advancement on that, however, and it looks like it was a damp squib. Or at the very worst, it looked like Boyata was just teasing us all.
But Celtic may truly have to wait until the end of the season before they can get rid of the want-away centre-back. His displays have been poor for several weeks now, as his form has taken a dip at the worst possible time.
As we get set to enter the new year tomorrow, speculation will surely ramp up on his future. Will we see any concrete bids? Certainly not as many as a dominant display on Saturday would’ve yielded.