Ismaila Soro looked highly likely to leave Celtic; now it’s not worth the risk

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As recently as 1 week ago, I was one of the many preaching that it was time for Celtic to allow Ismaila Soro to leave the club.

After all, he has hardly been utilised by Ange Postecoglou all season. His short cameo at Tynecastle last Wednesday was the first time he had made an appearance for the Hoops in Premiership action since September [Transfermarkt].

Ange had brought in Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley to add to the midfield ranks too. They joined Callum McGregor, Nir Bitton, and James McCarthy in being fit and available for the challenges ahead. Soro, meanwhile, was well out of the picture.

But it’s funny how much a week can change things in football. All of a sudden both McGregor and Ideguchi both look sidelined for the medium-term at least. Not unless Ange has a surprise up his sleeve, but it wouldn’t appear so.

Bitton, meanwhile, is suspended for this week’s Glasgow derby after picking up a red card vs Dundee United on Saturday. That leaves Celtic looking at the Rangers game with only O’Riley and McCarthy as their midfield options.

Soro has been linked with a move to New York, with Israeli interest also reported in his services [Scottish Sun]. But as things stand, he’s now one of the first reserves and could be for some time yet.

Ismaila Soro is all of a sudden needed for Celtic depth

There are no signs as of yet that McGregor or Ideguchi will be back anytime soon. And whilst Nir will be available for our next league match after Rangers – Motherwell at Fir Park next weekend – it still isn’t enough. David Turnbull is also scheduled to be out until the end of February.

Therefore, picture the scenario if we now allowed Soro to depart. It would leave us with only O’Riley and McCarthy available for the Rangers game. The latter has yet to play 90 minutes for the Hoops and an injury to either would demand the need for Soro. Ange is highly unlikely to switch his formation unless absolutely necessary.

Chances are the Ivorian will actually be needed at some stage against Rangers. It’s highly unlikely that the same midfield that starts against Rangers finishes the match. So he’ll likely have a role to play on Wednesday night even if it’s a small one.

The same also goes for the matches after Rangers too. We have massive games domestically and in Europe coming up with only Bitton due to return anytime soon. Sure, that will likely push McCarthy back out the team and make Soro second reserve.

But the fact is that these are the numbers we are dealing with until McGregor or Turnbull make a return. That’s the sad reality of it, and with neither man looking like returning anytime soon, losing Soro now would be a touch careless.

That’s not to say he won’t eventually get his move out of Parkhead. Ideally he would be gone this month and away to get regular football whether on loan or permanently. But it looks like he may have a bigger role to play over the next month or so all of a sudden. And in a season as important as this, we can’t afford to take any risks.

In other news, Celtic talent Liam Shaw delivered “excellent” 1st Motherwell start at Tynecastle