Brendan Rodgers won’t be making any big decisions on the fringe players in the Celtic squad before giving them a chance in pre-season training over the next few weeks.
Football Scotland reports that near-forgotten players such as Albian Ajeti, Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide are set to get an opportunity to impress at Lennoxtown before calls are made on their futures.
It’s also stated that prospects such as Stephen Welsh and Liam Scales, both of whom failed to establish themselves under former boss Ange Postecoglou, will be evaluated before they are sold or sent out on loan.
Rodgers rejuvenated a number of Celtic careers when he arrived in his first spell at the club, most notably James Forrest and Ryan Christie. Forrest looked destined for an exit when the former Liverpool boss was appointed but went on to produce some excellent form and win a truckload more medals.
Even if one or two of the current clutch of fringe players manage to convince Rodgers to that extent then it’s worth going through the process of giving them training and squad time. It’s all in service of trimming any fat off of the squad and moving forward with people who can contribute.
The squad will start arriving back to the training centre on Monday before the squad jets off for a training camp in Portugal next weekend. That comes before a flight out to Japan and South Korea for a trio of friendlies.
It’s been a bizarre period for supporters since the Scottish Cup Final less than a month ago. It feels like Celtic have been turned upside down. But there’s still strong continuity from recent successes and the club are in a strong position to kick on and deliver more of that.
With the squad’s return and, hopefully, some big signings to come, everything will start to come together before the competitive action kicks off in early August.
In other news, Surreal Jota salary on offer as timeline for Celtic exit becomes apparent.
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