Celtic have some planning to do in the right-back department.
Last week, it emerged that Celtic were to offer Anthony Ralston a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in a year’s time.
Assuming that Ralston agrees the extension, will he be expected to be Celtic’s second-choice? If so, what’s the plan for Colby Donovan?
Add in the case of Alistair Johnston, and the club’s path of choice will be interesting.
🔢 It appears that both Ralston and Donovan will be here next season…
Anthony Ralston’s contract extension hints at a loan for Colby Donovan
A serious injury to Johnston last August catapulted Donovan into the first-team picture, and he absolutely took his opportunity.
The 19-year-old had been set to move on loan to Dundee.
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Instead, he made 27 first-team appearances throughout the season, including starts in six of the Hoops’ ten Europa League outings.
Still a teenager, he’ll be keen to build on that this season – but assuming that Johnston stays fit, that will be complicated by the presence of Ralston.
There is an argument that loaning Donovan out to a good level – leaving Johnston as the clear first-choice and Ralston as the clear back-up – would be the best choice for his development.
Ralston is a polarising figure among the Parkhead faithful, with some in the support arguing that he should be moved out in favour of the teenager.
Then there’s the fact that Johnston has reportedly been attracting transfer interest with his World Cup performances.
Should the Canadian depart, there are major questions over whether Donovan is ready to step up.
Counter-intuitively, the best way to prepare the youngster for the first-choice could be loaning him out to a place where he would be first-choice, rather than forcing him to feed off scraps with two senior players ahead of him.
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Celtic used eight different players at right-back last season
In total, no less than eight players played at right-back for Celtic at one point or another last season.
Along with the aforementioned trio, there is, of course, Julian Araujo, who established himself as a fan-favourite during his short loan from Bournemouth. A return looks unlikely.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey started there against Kilmarnock, never to be seen in any position again.
Both Reo Hatate and Hyunjun Yang spent time there in the 2-0 defeat at Tannadice, whilst Arne Engels was moved there in the 2-1 win at Easter Road.
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