Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon reckons we haven’t even seen the very best of Callum McGregor and that his peak years are coming shortly.
Turning 30 next month, McGregor has built up vast experience in the heart of the Celtic midfield and is likely to have made 420 appearances in total for the club by the end of this season.
Another trophy could be on the way too, taking the captain up to 20 major honours since bursting into the Hoops first-team under Ronny Deila. And Lennon thinks he can surpass Bobby Lennox’s tally of 25 and become the club’s most decorated player in history.
The treble-winning boss said [Daily Record, 23/05 print edition page 51]: “If Celtic beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup Final then he’ll have won 20 major honours and I believe he’ll go on and set the record for the most decorated player. Celtic are in a period of real dominance at the moment and I can see that lasting for at least a few more years.
“You’ll see the absolute best of him in the next three or four seasons. He’s at the perfect age, better than he’s ever been physically and he has experience to back it up now.
“He’s always in great shape and is hardly ever injured so he’s available to play just about every week. Plus he could continue like this for another five or six years.”
McGregor really is on the road to setting all kinds of Celtic benchmarks and his performances back up the extraordinary numbers. If Celtic get three or four peak years out of the midfielder from this point then we really do have some good times ahead. It’s hard to imagine the captain ever settling for second best.
Just look at the way he responded to the deeply disappointing 2020/21 campaign. He’s taken on a new Celtic challenge and emerged again as one of, if not the best, players in the entire country. That kind of mentality is priceless.
We’re very lucky to have him.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou confirms Celtic Scottish Cup Final bonus.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
