Our View: Partyk Klimala could get Celtic chance sooner than expected

By John Reid

February 4, 2020

Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths will find out later on Tuesday if he will be cited by the SFA for an alleged stamp on Hamilton’s Sam Wood in Celtic’s recent match the Daily Record reports.

Should Griffiths pick-up a ban, then Celtic boss Neil Lennon will have to make a change when it comes to his forward line.

Obviously Odsonne Edouard will be a first-choice starter for the Hoops.

But should Lennon want to keep his current two striker formation, and the chances are he will, then that could see recent signing Patryk Klimala given a first-team chance.

Scored seven goals so far this season

Kimala has scored 45 goals in his career so far, and scored seven in the first-half of the season for his former side Jagiellonia Bialystok.

Celtic forward Patryk Klimala / (Photo by Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

So far at Celtic, he has been limited to a few substitute appearances as he gets used to life at his new club. However, all that could change should Griffiths get banned.

At the moment, there is no doubt that Griffiths and Edouard are the first-pick strikers for the club. In normal circumstances, Klimala could be waiting a while for a first start for the club.

That could all change if Griffiths is banned, and he perhaps could be given a chance to shine sooner than expected.

It will certainly be a test for Klimala. With all due respect to his former clubs, playing for them will not be as testing as it will be playing for Celtic.

He could be thrown in at the deep end against the likes of Hearts and Aberdeen, neither of which will be easy games for the Hoops, or the player.

Hoops will expect the player to perform

However, if you are spending £3.5 million on a player, as Celtic did on Klimala, then you would expect the player to be able to perform when he is selected.

That hasn’t really happened with the last striker Celtic spent big on, Vakoun Bayo. He has struggled in his time at the club.

Celtic forward Patryk Klimala / (Photo by Joachim Sielski/Bongarts/Getty Images)

That does not have to be the case with Klimala. He can prove that he is going to be a success for the Hoops if he performs well if Griffiths is suspended.

Hopefully Griffiths is not suspended, and the SFA do the sensible thing when it comes to the stamping incident.

But should he be banned, then Kilmala could be given his big chance. Then it will be up to the player to sink or swim.