Kenny Dalglish delivers his verdict on Kasper Schmeichel to Celtic, addresses age chatter

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The Kasper Schmeichel to Celtic story has finally provided supporters with some transfer excitement this summer.

Schmeichel is expected to complete a medical in the coming days and sign an initial one-year contract. Celtic are sorting out the final details of a free transfer signing that addresses a key priority for the club – replacing Joe Hart.

After months of vague links to many, many goalkeepers, the Bhoys have made their move to land a new number one.

Some fans had expected Celtic to shell out for a younger goalkeeper, someone who could stake a claim to be the club’s shot-stopper for a few years. However, Brendan Rodgers has again gone for experience.

For Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish that’s no issue and, in fact, he reckons this deal is a “no-brainer” for the Bhoys.

Peter Schmeichel move is “excellent” for Celtic

He said [Sunday Post, 14/07 print edition]: “Celtic need to get in a qual­ity goal­keeper this sum­mer and it looks as though it’s going to be Kasper Schmeichel. Nego­ti­ations are under way on a one-year deal and no hitches are expec­ted. He should be on the plane this mid­week for the three-game tour of the US.

“I think it’s an excel­lent piece of busi­ness. Brendan Rodgers knows him well from their time at Leicester City together and Kasper strikes me as the type of pro­fes­sional who will fill the void left on and off the park by Joe Hart.

“Sure, Kasper is actu­ally five months older than Joe but that doesn’t con­cern me. He is still just 37, has been Den­mark’s No. 1 at the Euros and has excel­lent stats from his spell at Ander­lecht last sea­son. We all know that Joe looked as though he had a couple of years left in him. Also, Craig Gor­don is still play­ing into his 40s. Allan Mcgregor was great for Rangers at 40 too.

“So, all things con­sidered, and the fact there is no trans­fer fee involved, makes this trans­fer a no-brainer. It means funds set aside for this win­dow can be used else­where in the team. This was a huge pos­i­tion for Celtic to sort out and it looks as though they have done it well.”

Schmeichel is still a goalkeeper at the top of his game

As alluded to by Dalglish, Schmeichel’s season in Belgium with Anderlecht was actually quite impressive. He was the top goalkeeper in the country in key metrics such as save percentage and prevented goals.

The veteran deservedly kept his place in the Denmark side that went to the Euro 2024 tournament and played in all four of their matches. He is still competing at the top level.

As we discussed yesterday his save percentage and prevented goals were far higher than Hart too. He can undoubtedly fill the void left by the Englishmen’s retirement.

He also possesses leadership qualities having captained Leicester and his country. That will be a nice addition to the dressing room in support of Callum McGregor.

The signing ticks a lot of boxes and, while the scouting department aren’t exactly uncovering a hidden gem, the most important thing is that Schmeichel should be a success on the pitch.