Celtic have added five new faces to the squad since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers seven weeks ago. There will be more, but for now, former Celtic ‘keeper, Pat Bonner, seems to be liking what he is seeing from Maik Nawrocki.
The Polish u21 defender joined Celtic now less than three weeks ago, and it is fair to say that he is not only impressing the fans, he is also leaving a good impression on Bonner.
Discussing Celtic’s incomings and outgoings, Bonner was reacting to the news that Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers is looking to add another defender to the squad when he started assessing the 22-year-old centre-back.
Bonner said [BBC Sportsound Open All Mic’s], “Jota’s a big loss from a point of view of goals and the way that he played, but he’s [Brendan Rodgers] got able replacements in all of those positions.
“The centre-half position is the one they will strengthen in that area. [Maik] Nawrocki is young, he’s 22 years old, he’s Polish, not got lots of experience by the way.
“He hasn’t been in the international team. I think he was in one squad but he didn’t quite make the final number to go to World Cup.
“He’s good on the ball, he is a good technician, he’s quick enough. He’s big enough. Maybe his timing is out a little bit but that will come down to playing games.”
Maik Nawrocki has impressed at Celtic so far; but a test is nearing
The big defender has looked calm and assured in the heart of the Hoops defence. Slotting in beside Cameron Carter-Vickers, Nawrocki looks very accomplished in the Celtic backline.
On Sunday, he performed well against an aggressive and direct Aberdeen side and he certainly looked comfortable considering it was only his second competitive appearance.
However, the injury to Carter-Vickers will be a test for Nawrocki. The US defender is an excellent partner to have in beside you but how will he fair in with Stephen Welsh if Carter-Vickers’ injury is long-term?
Welsh has had very limited game time and whilst he equipped himself admirably on Sunday, Celtic do have a testing run of fixtures ahead of them even at this stage of the season.
Will Nawrocki and Welsh have enough time to create an understanding to keep things tight at the back? Will Lagerbiekle be thrown straight in on Sunday if he is the next new face in the door?
Whatever happens, Nawrocki is certainly going to find himself tested over the next few weeks and the Celtic fans will be hoping that he is up to it.
In other news, Neil Lennon says Celtic must reinforce two key areas for the upcoming Champions League campaign
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