Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren is being underestimated amid Premier League question marks

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Only at a club like Celtic can a midfielder bag 19 goals across all competitions and still manage to heavily divide opinion.

Benjamin Nygren is vastly undervalued in this current and declining Celtic team, yet pundits like Chris Sutton have spent the entire season questioning his overall contribution and whether he has the minerals to play in the English Premier League amid links.

Whether that lucrative financial switch to the self-dubbed best league in the world actually materialises remains to be seen, but no one should be surprised if it happens this summer or next summer.

Added to that, do not be surprised if Nygren also grabs a few goals for Sweden at this summer’s World Cup, having already played a crucial role in guiding Graham Potter’s side to world football’s biggest stage.

• READ MORE: Celtic debate ignited as Open Goal panel say who they would sell for £20m out of Engels and Nygren

Does Nygren have the qualities to play in the Premier League?

Chris Sutton doesn't think so!

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Benjamin Nygren needs better players around him at Celtic

Yes, Nygren needs to do more outside the penalty box.

But we have to acknowledge the absolute chaos that has surrounded him since he secured a £2 million switch to the champions of Scotland from FC Nordsjaelland during the summer of 2025.

The 24-year-old is operating in one of the most abject Celtic sides in recent memory, navigating the extreme turbulence of playing under three different managers in a single campaign.

Critics constantly complain about Nygren’s lack of involvement, which is correct, and more should be demanded from him.

But Nygren simply isn’t the type of player to have 90 touches in a game. His career path has proven that.

He won’t dictate the tempo like Callum McGregor in his prime, he won’t win the ball back like Victor Wanyama against Barcelona, and he certainly isn’t a nasty enforcer like the no-nonsense Scott Brown.

Nygren is Napoli and Scotland’s version of Scott McTominay

Instead, look at Scott McTominay when he was at Manchester United. Fans constantly demanded more, United eventually sold him, and now he is absolutely thriving in Naples, including winning the Serie A title last season.

Not forgetting that he also played a massive role in Scotland reaching the 2026 World Cup in the most incredible style at Hampden back in November.

Like McTominay, Nygren is brutally efficient – taking fewer touches but delivering maximum reward. His ultimate job is goals, goals, goals.

Despite the dysfunction at Celtic Park, Nygren is doing his job.

Put better players around him, provide some much-needed managerial stability, and the Swedish star will finally get the appreciation he truly deserves.

Unless a team with big bucks puts money on the table for Nygren’s services and he leaves in the summer, let’s see how he performs next season when, hopefully, there is more stability on and off the pitch.