Pundit Michael Stewart believes that the recent signing of Shane Duffy does not mean that Celtic will automatically start playing three at the back, the Scottish Sun reports.
The arrival of Duffy means that the Hoops now have the option of playing three natural centre-backs in the team. The trio of Duffy, Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien.
However, writing in his column in the Scottish Sun, Stewart has made the bold prediction that for the Hoops’ trip to Ross County on Saturday, Neil Lennon will play four at the back, and one of the centre-backs will miss out.
“Of course, Duffy’s signing gives Lennon the option to go to a back three if he wants to. But the way the Celtic boss is, he doesn’t tend to flip from one thing to another too often” Stewart began.
“He likes things to be settled at the back”
“In general he likes things to be settled at the back and in the middle of the park. So my guess is there might be an odd man out as early as 3pm this afternoon in Dingwall against Ross County.”
That is certainly a big call from Stewart. He might well be right though, and Neil Lennon could decide to stick with two centre-backs. If that is the case, then who will be the aforementioned ‘odd man out’?
The player perhaps most likely is Kristoffer Ajer. That is only because at the moment his future is uncertain, and there is no guarantee he will be at Celtic after the transfer window closes next month.
Duo have featured regularly for Hoops
However, that hasn’t stopped Lennon from picking him on a regular basis so far this season. You would imagine that Jullien will start, as he has been a stalwart of Lennon’s side.
Maybe Stewart is wrong, and the Hoops boss will go with three at the back. After all, he has the personnel to play that formation.
It will be interesting when the Celtic team is announced to see if Stewart is correct, or if Neil Lennon plays the three at the back. Either way, it is good that Celtic have these options available.
In other news, Neil Lennon has provided a promising update on Leigh Griffiths’ return.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
