‘Oh, he’s massive’… John Hartson points out Hoops hero who makes Celtic ‘a different side’

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Celtic are getting set to play their biggest game of the season so far as Club Brugge comes visiting in the Champions League.

After Celtic beat RB Leipzig two weeks ago, Brendan Rodgers‘ side created a very real chance of progressing in the tournament for the first time in over a decade.

Whilst players like Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda have been stealing the headlines for Celtic in the Champions League, there is another Hoops hero who John Hartson reckons is ‘massive’ for Rodgers’ Bhoys.

Why John Hartson says Cameron Carter-Vickers makes Celtic ‘look a lot stronger’

Cameron Carter-Vickers has been a mainstay in the Celtic side ever since his big loan move from Tottenham Hotspur.

His loan spell urged Celtic to spend £6m on him and barring injury, the US international defender is the first name on Rodgers’ team sheet.

And it is little wonder because as Hartson is about to explain, Celtic are a better team with the 26-year-old in it.

Hartson told talkSPORT, “When you consider Joe Hart left at the end of last season, it’s been a like for like, bringing in Kasper Schmeichel. He’s made some really good saves this season as well.

“So, yeah, I think Brendan knew him, obviously, from his days at Leicester, so he knew what he was getting.

“And, as you say, you know, it’s been Trusty and Carter Vickers. Carter Vickers is massive for Celtic. Oh, he’s massive.

“When he plays they are a different side. He goes and gets it off of Kasper Schmeichel, he gets it on the turn and he fizzes it into the front.

“And as you both know as frontmen, you prefer it to be fizzed in, not rolled, then it’s easier to control and he passes it out from the back.

“He’s very, very good. So when he plays, I think Celtic, they look a lot stronger.”

Celtic’s record in every game Cameron Carter-Vickers has played

The English-born US international defender has made 127 appearances for Celtic and has scored even goals to boot.

In the three years Carter-Vickers has been at the club, he has won three Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups which includes the record-breaking treble in 2023.

But when Carter-Vickers plays in the side, how does Celtic’s win-rate hold up? Here, 67 Hail Hail takes a look.

It’s worth noting that in 90 appearances in the Scottish Premiership with Carter-Vickers in the side, Celtic have lost just three games.

So Hartson is correct, not only does the American make Celtic better, Carter-Vickers certainly strengthens that Hoops back line.