Joel Mvuka arrived at Celtic in February as a short-term wide option for Martin O’Neill’s squad. The move looked practical on paper, but his lack of gametime has made the message around his arrival harder to defend.
Mvuka was not introduced as someone who would make up the numbers. O’Neill’s own words created a clear expectation that the winger could help Celtic quickly.
He called the winger “a talented player” and said he had “a very good level of experience achieved at some really good clubs”. He also described him as “very quick”, said he was “able to play on both wings”, and backed him to make “a very positive contribution” after he arrived at Celtic in February.
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Celtic have made O’Neill’s Mvuka comments look premature
That is where the problem begins. Mvuka has made only two Celtic appearances and played 87 minutes, which is nowhere near enough to match the language used around his signing.
Since then, the 23-year-old has been absent from the squad entirely, and seemingly has no way back in.
Hyunjun Yang and James Forrest’s form means that it would be unfair to not play either one of those ahead of him, but O’Neill’s initial excitement seems to have faded away quickly.
Celtic’s big recruitment problem spotted
Mvuka’s Celtic situation is not open-ended. He is on loan from FC Lorient until the end of the season with an option to buy included.
If anything, it highlights how big an issue the recruitment is at the football club.
A summer rebuild awaits because of the failings in the recent transfer windows and the Norwegian will be one of the first to head for the exit door.
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