Hibernian icon Lewis Stevenson has stated how great it is to see Leigh Griffiths back and ready to go at Celtic.
Griffiths has been showing his face publicly once again after taking a sabbatical from football for three months. Between March and now, the striker has been focusing on individual fitness work. But speaking to Celtic TV a couple of weeks ago, Griffiths announced he’ll be back in time for pre-season.
Of course his first love was indeed Stevenson’s Hibs. Griffiths spent a productive two years at Easter Road where he fired home 66 goals. It’s likely what brought him to Celtic’s attention in the first place. But it also gave Stevenson and Griff the chance to build up a relationship.
And speaking in the Daily Record, Stevenson praised both Griffiths and Celtic ahead of the striker’s return.
“It’s great to see Leigh is getting himself back to full fitness. It was shocking and sad to see what he was going through. Leigh could be your best pal and you wouldn’t know what he is going through and it was something that was very hard to pick up on.
“Leigh was in the most capable hands at Celtic and I was glad to see he got the best available support. I got on really well with him so I’m delighted to see he seems to be through the worst of it all.
“I don’t want to see Leigh come back into the Celtic team to tell you the truth as he will score goals for fun. That’s not only bad news for Hibs but for every other team in Scotland.”
Can Griff be the striker Lennon craves?
As we all know, Neil Lennon has already announced that a new striker is at the top of his to-do list this summer (The Herald). The Celtic manager believes that we’ve been too reliant on Odsonne Edouard, and he’s probably right.
But you have to wonder whether Griffiths can be the force Lennon needs to help with the goal burden. After all, this is a player who managed an incredible 40 goals in one season under Ronny Deila. He’s scored 104 goals in his Celtic career, and has always netted regularly for the club when given a consistent run.
Griffiths will also be itching to get going and keen to prove a point to both the Celtic fans and Lennon. No new signing will show more hunger than the former Wolves man.
Of course, Lennon was a fan of the 4-4-2 system during his first spell at Parkhead. He could have his eye on switching to two up top, and that would leave Celtic needing another striker regardless.
But if that isn’t the case, you have to question whether we need a fourth first-team forward. Vakoun Issouf Bayo is already waiting in the wings for an opportunity too. As it stands, we’re well stocked in that regard.
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