Pundit is baffled why Brendan Rodgers hasn’t given Celtic player ‘enough opportunity’ to shine

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Celtic fans are confused by the recruitment strategy at the club that has arguably left Brendan Rodgers’ squad in a weaker state than last term.

Influential figures such as Jota and Carl Starfelt departed last summer, yet it is hard to see who has arrived as a like-for-like replacement for either, at least in terms of quality.

Luis Palma has become a first-team regular under Brendan Rodgers on the left flank since joining; nevertheless, his form has started to deteriorate, resulting in his withdrawal at the interval against Kilmarnock last weekend.

Defensively, both Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki arrived at the start of the season for a fair amount of money, making just 18 appearances combined in green and white [Transfermarkt].

It is hard to know where it has gone wrong in either case, though both did spend a period in the wilderness for a number of months despite reportedly being fit to play.

Over the Hoops’ last three domestic matches, Rodgers has opted to field Stephen Welsh and Liam Scales in a back-two amid the absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Nawrocki has at least shown shooting signs of life at Parkhead; nevertheless, the case of Lagerbielke’s disappearance into thin air has caused major perplexity among the support, given that he doesn’t even make the bench most of the time.

Gustaf Lagerbielke’s role at Celtic is questioned once more

Lagerbielke pitched up at Parkhead for an outlay in the region of £3 million and went public in January to try and seal a late loan move to Serie A side Lecce, which fell apart late on in the window.

Speaking about his situation, on-loan Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday, who doubles as a pundit these days, has indicated he is baffled the Sweden international hasn’t been given ample opportunity to show why he should be in Rodgers’ side.

Halliday stated [Clyde 1 Superscoreboard]: “I look at Lagerbielke; I feel he hasn’t had enough opportunity to show that he is good recruitment.

“We have watched plenty of him; I think there have been games where he came in and did well. But it just seems he’s completely out of the picture over the last couple of months.”

Assessing the situation, it is incomprehensible that something hasn’t gone wrong along the line that has led to Lagerbielke’s bizarre standing as nothing more than a spare body at Lennoxtown.

Right now, there is no movement to show that his Celtic career is salvageable, and the most likely scenario is he moves on in the summer, either on loan or permanently, producing more questions than answers regarding the Bhoys’ recruitment procedure.