Celtic’s newest defender is far from a household name.
But Benjamin Arthur, Martin O’Neill’s Deadline Day addition, comes to Glasgow on loan with a strong reputation in coaching circles.
We’ve seen this movie already this season, with Jahmai Simpson-Pusey standing as an example that the step from reserve football to senior football is not easy at any level.
But the issue with Simpson-Pusey was more with trust from his coaches than his performances on the pitch; he made just one appearance for Celtic.
One man who does know Arthur well is former Celtic defender Steven Pressley.
Does Benjamin Arthur have enough quality to make an impact for Celtic?
Steven Pressley on Celtic addition Benjamin Arthur
Prior to taking his current role as manager of Dundee, Pressley was Talent Manager at Brentford.
Arthur joined the Bees in 2023 from Peterborough United, featuring for their B team and making sporadic cup appearances for the first team.
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Asked about Arthur at his Dundee press conference, on Thursday, Pressley had some big statements to make on the 20-year-old defender.
He said: “Benjy Arthur is a player I worked really closely with in my time at Brentford. I really like him and rate him as a player.
“I don’t want to put much pressure on him, but he does remind me of a young Virgil van Dijk. He is a huge unit but also very mobile.
“He is right sided. Benjy is very calm and clean in his defending. He is very assured, quick, strong and powerful. He has got so many good attributes that all the top modern day defenders require.”
“I spoke to Shaun Maloney about him the other day. I told him how highly I rated him and he is a player with huge potential.
“They, in my opinion, have made a good acquisition. Of course, it is his first loan. This will be a new experience for the player but he is a player who has huge potential.”
“There was a lot of interest in Benjy. I know there were several English Championship clubs who were keen on him and also Celtic came in, so he had a lot of options.
“I am confident he can do well at Celtic given the opportunity.
“Brentford thought this would be a terrific loan for him because one of the biggest challenges is, can you handle the pressures of playing for Celtic or Rangers.
“I think if you can handle that then you will be able to handle most clubs. In terms of being able to grow and be tested then this will be a good step for him.”
Is this Celtic’s strongest starting XI now that the transfer window has closed?
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Celtic’s January business, summarised
Celtic’s January window saw five signings in total – all of them on loan.
In fairness to the club, three of those came with options to buy, including Adamu. Julian Araujo does not, however, being brought to Glasgow under the watch of Wilfried Nancy.
At the top of Celtic’s wishlist was undoubtedly a striker, which finally arrived in the form of Tomas Cvancara, who has already provided goal contributions in both of his appearances.
The Deadline Day loan of Arthur from Brentford allowed Stephen Welsh to return to Motherwell.
He arrived on the final day of the window, alongside striker Junior Adamu and winger Joel Mvuka.
Almost a week into February, however, it now seems that the business isn’t done there, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain set to join Celtic.
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