Darren O’Dea has identified the issue holding Tounekti back at Celtic, and it is not ability.
Tounekti has been described as a player with clear talent and natural qualities on the ball.
But the same assessment also points to a problem that is clear. Tounekti struggles at the top end of the pitch. That issue is not ability, it’s mentality, and this is where this story really sits.
This is not a new issue at Celtic. It is one Brendan Rodgers addressed during his time at the club.
Does Sebastian Tounekti have a future beyond this season at Celtic?
Celtic already have a clear Rodgers blueprint for this problem
O’Dea’s assessment of Tounekti is direct and leaves little room for interpretation. He rates the Celtic winger but has clear doubts about his mentality at the club.
The former Celtic defender said, “Tounekti, I’m going to call it. I think there’s a player there. I honestly believe there’s a player there. But he’s petrified to lose the ball. He’s petrified.
“When I went on a pitch, my thing my thing was do not lose the game for my team. That was my mentality, don’t make mistakes. Be a good teammate.
“You cannot play at the front end at any level, let alone Celtic, if you’ve got that mentality. He’s so safe.
“But I’m telling you, he can travel with the ball. He has a nice way about him and he looks like he’s about to deliver and it never comes. But that can just be a mentality.
“I’ve seen it with Nicholas Kuhn as well. Very, very similar. Petrified to take someone on. It took Brendan Rodgers to basically say, ‘I don’t care what you do. You’re going to take him on and if you lose it, so be it.’”
The key point is not just the criticism, but the comparison that follows. The reference to Nicolas Kuhn places Tounekti’s issue in a pattern that has already existed under Rodgers.
Kuhn faced the same hesitation, the same reluctance to take risks in attacking areas. Rodgers’ response was not to limit that instinct, but to remove the fear around losing possession.
That instruction reframes the role of a Celtic winger entirely.
Celtic winger development under Rodgers points directly at Tounekti
At Celtic, attacking players are expected to take responsibility in decisive moments. Safe play limits output, especially in wide areas where beating a man is often the difference.
This is where Tounekti’s current approach becomes a clear barrier. The hesitation described by O’Dea is not about technical limitation, but decision-making under pressure.
That matters because it places the focus on coaching rather than recruitment. The same belief runs through O’Dea’s comments that there is still a player there.
The missing piece is the willingness to act in those moments without hesitation. Rodgers has already addressed that exact issue within his squad.
The comparison to Kuhn shows that this is a defined part of how he develops attacking players. Tounekti now sits within that same framework.
What happens next depends on whether that mentality shift takes hold in the same way. The pathway is already there, and it has already been used.
That makes this less about uncertainty and more about application. Tounekti’s challenge is not discovering ability, but trusting it.
If that changes, the rest of Tounekti’s game is already in place.
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