’They are really hard to find’: Barry Ferguson can’t hide envy for rare Celtic 30-year-old

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Barry Ferguson has dubbed Celtic captain Callum McGregor as a player that is ‘really hard to find’.

Whether it’s Ronny Deila or Brendan Rodgers, the constant for Celtic during this decade+ of dominance has been Callum McGregor.

The successor to Bhoys legend Scott Brown, who left in 2022, Callum McGregor has won the lot in the colours of his boyhood club over and over again.

And whilst the tricks of Reo Hatate or the recent goals of Matt O’Riley constantly make the headlines for Celtic, the man behind them seems to be going under the radar.

Barry Ferguson touched upon how Callum McGregor ‘keeps it simple, but is so effective’, whilst also adding that you don’t find or get many players of his ilk in the market, as he told Go Radio. 

Still, at the age of 30, the reliable midfielder is hitting the peak of his powers, and after winning the Treble last season under the now-thriving Tottenham Hotspur boss, Ange Postecoglou, he is searching for more trophies with Celtic and Brendan Rodgers.

Callum McGregor at Celtic

“He keeps it simple, but he is so effective,” said Ferguson. “That’s what people don’t understand.

“I think people want to see players dribble past players or ping the ball 60 yards every time he gets the ball, he just keeps the game ticking, just sits in there and hovers about.

“He lets Hatate and O’Riley go away and he is always behind them patrolling. Players like that, they are hard to find. They are really hard to find.”

Is Callum McGregor underrated?

Amongst the Celtic faithful, he isn’t, but it could be argued that outside the four walls of Parkhead, he is.

McGregor’s performance at Ibrox this season is proof of how he can control and run such a highly pressured game without dancing past several players, doing tricks or pinging diagonal passes to the flanks.

When it comes to taking the ball in pressured situations, there aren’t many who are as brave as the Celtic skipper himself.

That’s one of his best strengths and it’s a reason why he will be regarded as one of Celtic’s best when he hangs up his boots.

But there is a long way to go until that happens because there is another league title to win this term, with Rodgers’ and the Bhoys seven points clear.