It’s incredible that the club still have him, but Celtic should send Dorus de Vries out on loan for the next six months.
The Dutchman has absolutely no future at Parkhead anymore, after blowing a series of chances to impress.
Now, however, we’re into the final six months of his contract. De Vries won’t be staying at Celtic Park beyond that period. Therefore, he needs to get himself out and show everyone what he’s capable of.
Ever since Brendan Rodgers signed him in the early stages of the 2016/17 season, de Vries has been a comedy of errors. He instantly had a reputation for letting shots in that should’ve been saved. His inability to keep a clean sheet in any of his first five appearances led to Rodgers dropping him for Craig Gordon.
Since then, it’s been hell on earth for de Vries, who’s struggled to be taken seriously since.
Indeed, the Dutchman did have 10 further matches last season. Those were only due to the fact that Gordon was sidelined, however.
MORE CELTIC STORIES
Since then, Scott Bain has come in and racked up a fine record as back-up. He’ll be Celtic’s number two for the foreseeable future, with de Vries now having no place at Celtic.
Important that de Vries gets some game-time
Instead of letting him rot in the reserves, Celtic should really try to find a platform for him. If he leaves the club without having had some games under his belt this season, not many will want to take a chance on him.
Meanwhile, the veteran Dutchman is just twiddling his thumbs and picking up wages for nothing at Parkhead. Even if there are a few of them currently doing that, Celtic can do both themselves and de Vries a favour by finding him a new club in the short-term.
De Vries, of course, did have a chance to impress last season at Ibrox. With Gordon picking up another knock, it looked like his big chance to shine was coming.
Unfortunately, however, he picked up a knock that led to Bain taking his place. From there on, there’s been no way back for him.
In six months this affiliation will end. In the mean-time, however, Celtic should let him see out the rest of his contract elsewhere for the player’s sake.