Michael Stewart believes Celtic need to strengthen at centre-back and left-back as he tipped them to make an impact in Europe.
Celtic will automatically qualify for the UCL group stages next year thanks to their Premiership title win this term. It’s come as the Hoops racked up the best defensive record of anyone in the league with only 22 goals against in 38 league matches.
However, as we gear up for Europe next season, some squad tweaking will need to happen once again this summer. Where the manager decides to strengthen this summer remains a mystery, but plenty of supporters and pundits are now beginning to have their say.
And speaking on Sportscene last night, Stewart explained why he thinks we need a new centre-back and left-back before entering the UCL:
“You can look at the stats and you can look at the numbers in terms of having the best defence in the country for a number of years with Rodgers and now with Postecoglou. But I think that’s more as a collective unit. When you go into Europe and you’re being caught a little more exposed, I think you need to have that ability to be one-v-one like Van Dijk was when he was at Celtic.
“I think Starfelt has improved, and I think Carter-Vickers has been a rock at the back. But I think personally I would still be looking to strengthen in that central defensive area. And obviously chat in the full-back position, potentially bringing in a new left-back as well.
“Those are the sorts of areas where I think they need to strengthen because if they’ve got a solid base there to build upon I think they do have a lot of ability middle to front to go and cause problems in Europe.”
Michael Stewart thinks Celtic need defensive strengthening before UCL entry
First of all, we need to ensure that Carter-Vickers actually stays at Celtic Park before analysing the situation at centre-back. If we manage to keep him tied down, then we can move on to what we potentially then need to add to it.
You would imagine much of this is down to how Ange feels about both Christopher Jullien and Stephen Welsh respectively. Does he believe either man can step up next season and prove to be a solid back-up option? With Nir Bitton leaving the club, that takes away one additional piece of cover.
As for the left-back situation, that’s clearly going to be a priority this summer. Greg Taylor has improved tremendously under Ange this term, but he still lacks genuine competition. It says a lot that his main competitor appears to be Josip Juranovic, and he’s our first-choice right-back.
Again, it’ll come down to how Ange feels when it comes to the likes of Boli Bolingoli and Liam Scales respectively. You’d do well to see a future for the former, and it could be the case the latter needs minutes elsewhere to develop appropriately. Even so, we still need to bolster quality in that area of the pitch.
But it doesn’t end there. We still need another body in the middle of the park and then we can be satisfied with what we have for the season ahead. Not to mention the deadwood that needs released this summer if we get the opportunity.
But for now, Celtic can celebrate their achievements and enjoy what they’ve done this season. There’s plenty of time before we need to start worrying about where to improve.
In other news, Scott Brown’s Celtic farewell messages to Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton
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