Brendan Rodgers has already had a busy summer for Celtic in the transfer window. With five new additions already donning the green and white hoops, the Celtic manager is on record as looking to add even more new faces to the Parkhead dressing room.
With Carl Starfelt confirmed as the next Celtic player looking to leave the club, Rodgers has admitted he will look to replace the big Swede when that day comes.
But there is also one other area that the manager may need to look at. The goalkeeper. Now, before I get started on this, let me get on record as saying I really like Joe Hart.
He has been immense for us the last two seasons and brought stability to the Celtic backline when he joined us two summers ago.
He has turned up in big games with some huge saves and also brings leadership to the dressing room that helped Callum McGregor settle into the captain’s role.
But for all that, he has shown over preseason and in the win over Ross County that there are parts of his game that could end up costing us when it really matters.
In the first half against County, Hart was slack with a backpass that almost gifted The Staggies the opening goal. And at the corner when County scored their first, he didn’t cover himself in glory either.
Coupled with some mistakes in preseason as well, Hart is starting to show these errors more consistently and that must be a cause for concern for Brendan Rodgers.
Celtic need to find a long-term solution for Joe Hart
Could we look at giving Ben Siegrist a run in the team? It’s difficult to say. The Swiss ‘keeper has not had much in the way of game time bar fleeting appearances in the Japan Tour and against Athletic Club in James Forrest’s testimonial having spent much of last season on the treatment table.
Clearly Scott Bain isn’t the answer either. So that leads to one question. Will Brendan Rodgers look to add a long-term solution to what could become a problem position for Celtic? And let’s not forget, Hart is out of contract at the end of the season so an answer needs to be found either way.
Hart has been excellent for us. His commitment to Celtic and his love for the club coupled with his role in our successes will always be remembered fondly by the supporters.
I have said repeatedly we should look to keep Hart at Celtic in some capacity when his contract expires. But as Celtic’s number one? Rodgers needs to look at addressing that as soon as he can as good goalkeepers are hard to come by.
If Rodgers does it now, the new man could come in and learn from Hart’s experience which could stand him in good stead for the seasons ahead.
In other news, Celtic stars head to Instagram after Flag Day win vs Ross County
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