Celtic manager Neil Lennon will have to take a player out of his UEFA Europa League squad for the group stages if he wants to include Diego Laxalt.
The Bhoys currently have 24 players in their List A squad but cannot add another who hasn’t trained at Celtic for three years before his 22nd birthday.
UEFA’s squad limit is 25, but the Scottish champions don’t have enough ‘locally trained players’ to reach that number, as defined by the Europa League regulations (PDF).
Well-regarded Celtic European specialist Moravcik67 laid out the full list registered for the play-off round against Sarajevo on Twitter.
There are several List A players on the fringes of the squad who can theoretically be dropped without much impact to the strength of Lennon’s team.
The most likely, as Moravcik67 states, is Luca Connell.
He has yet to make a competitive appearance for the Bhoys and hasn’t been making the bench either.
We have more than enough central midfielders to cope with injury problems, even if the crisis is severe.
Lennon has already been talking up the abilities of Laxalt, and there is little doubt he’ll be included in the group stage squad.
It’s unfortunate for anyone dropping out, but the manager has incredible depth, and it’s no reflection of a player’s ability or potential.
Last season the club were forced to leave Jeremie Frimpong out in similar circumstances.
The club have until 11 pm tonight to register the squad with UEFA, so we should find out tomorrow who is in the confirmed lineup.
In other news, Celtic fans have flocked to a cryptic Mark McKenzie Twitter post.
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