It is fair to say that Diego Laxalt’s start to his Celtic career has gone better than anyone would have imagined.
The left-back was signed on loan from Milan in the last days of the transfer window, to provide competition for Greg Taylor.
However, Laxalt has done more than that. In his five games for the club so far he has managed to make the left-back position his own.
Set Europa League record
The Uruguayan has particularly impressed in the Europa League. His 13 tackles in the game against Lille were a Europa League record.
Even UEFA’s official Europa League Twitter account recognised how well Laxalt performed against Lille, describing his performance as ‘immense’.
The only way seems to be up for Laxalt at Celtic. He seems certain to be first-choice left-back for the remainder of the season, unless he picks up a serious injury.
Indeed, Neil Lennon has been very impressed with Laxalt’s performances so far, with the Glasgow Times reporting that Lennon would love to keep the player at the club on a permanent basis.
That is a long way off yet though. However, you have to imagine that Milan might well be keen to keep hold of Laxalt after how well he has started his Celtic career.
They will have been impressed with how well he played against them in the recent Europa League fixture.
Hopefully will remain at club beyond loan spell
Hopefully the regular first-team opportunities at Celtic will convince Laxalt that he should remain at Celtic Park for a while. Who knows, if a permanent deal can’t be agreed then maybe another loan deal can. That is what happened with Mohamed Elyounoussi. Only time will tell what the future holds for Laxalt.
The aforementioned Europa League Tweet about Laxalt asked fans to describe the loan signing in one word, and fans were quick to respond.
Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter as Laxalt is described in (usually) one word by Celtic fans:
In other news, Neil Lennon disclosed that Leigh Griffiths had to win him over after a disappointing summer.
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