Marvin Compper’s return to Celtic first-team looks a long way away

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When Neil Lennon came in the door, one of the first things he said was that the door was open for Marvin Compper to return.

The big German has still only played just one senior game for Celtic. In January 2018, he featured in a routine Scottish Cup win over Morton. He hasn’t been seen in the first team since.

He signed a contract for two-and-a-half years too. So Celtic will have to hold onto him until the summer of 2020, unless they somehow get an offer for him in the summer.

But at this stage, it’s starting to look as though a return to the first-team won’t actually happen.

Sure, there are games between now and the end of the season. And, of course, those could be the matches Lennon had his eyes on when he kept the door open for Compper. But can you truly see him now coming in from the cold to feature with our fixture list between now and the end of the season?

Should Celtic beat Aberdeen on Sunday, Lennon will want to keep his squad fresh for the Scottish Cup final. Kristoffer Ajer, Jozo Simunovic, Filip Benkovic, Mikael Lustig, and possibly Jack Hendry are all likely ahead of Compper at centre-back.

Too many alternatives for Compper to be selected

Therefore, if the Hoops boss wants to rest anyone before the cup final, there are plenty of bodies outside of Compper to come in and replace them.

There were rumours going around that Compper would play in the recent 2-0 win at St Mirren. It came in the same week he stopped featuring for the reserves too. But nothing came of it, and he still hasn’t been seen in a squad since Lennon came in the door.

Compper’s only real hope of salvaging his Celtic career is likely to be if a new manager comes in. He needs a clean slate and a new pre-season.

Dedryck Boyata’s injury doesn’t pull Compper much closer to things. The recent involvement of Lustig at centre-back was a slap in the face to the German and Hendry too.

With just potentially seven games remaining of the season, it’s difficult to see any game-time arriving for Compper. Celtic don’t have any easy matches post-split, and would Lennon really throw him in against the likes of Rangers, Aberdeen, or Hibernian? Doubtful to say the least.

So it’s looking as though Compper’s first-team chances this season will indeed be non-existent. Unless Lennon springs a massive surprise, he’s been frozen out once more.