When Brendan Rodgers could let Viljami Sinisalo show his potential with competitive Celtic debut

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When Brendan Rodgers added seven new faces to his Celtic team this summer, the Hoops boss didn’t just add quality, he also added potential.

Spending £11m on Arne Engels and £9.5m on Adam Idah meant that Rodgers not only paid the price for the players he believed could take Celtic to the next level, but the Irishman also secured two players ahead of their best footballing years.

Celtic also answered the ever-burning Joe Hart question this summer. When the big Englishman announced his retirement from football, Rodgers knew he had to make a plan to secure one of the most important positions in the team.

The Celtic boss addressed that with the signings of Viljami Sinisalo and Kasper Schmeichel and whilst the Dane has enjoyed five outings between the sticks, the young Finnish goalkeeper is yet to be seen on the competitive stage for Celtic.

September date Sinisalo could make Celtic debut

So far, Viljami Sinisalo has had to watch from the sidelines as Schmeichel impressed in the opening five games as Celtic blew away Kilmarnock, Hibs twice, St Mirren and the Rangers in the Glasgow Derby.

But as the season enters its busiest spell of fixtures in the calendar, Rodgers will need to utilise his squad to ensure not only players get game time but also rested at various points in the season.

Celtic face Hearts at Celtic Park and then Slovan Bratislava in the opening group game in the Champions League.

Sinisalo is likely to spend those games on the bench unless there is a need to drop Kasper Schmeichel due to an injury issue or otherwise.

The young Finn could likely be given his Celtic debut on the 22nd of September when Falkirk visits Celtic Park for the quarter-final of the League Cup.

Celtic will be heavy favourites for that tie and with Rodgers’ team likely to dominate, this could be the perfect match to introduce Sinisalo to the Celtic support in the comfort of the home stadium.

Celtic’s squad will be vital this season

So far this season, there are eight players, including Sinisalo, who have yet to taste competitive action for Celtic. Auston Trusty, Adam Montgomery, Stephen Welsh, Maik Nawrocki, Alex Valle, Liam Shaw and Scott Bain are yet to feature.

With the exception of Shaw, Bain, Montgomery and possibly Nawrocki, you would imagine the rest will feature at some point over the coming months.

Celtic now face playing three games per week from now until the next international break in October and right up until and Rodgers’ work in the summer window has helped to set the team up nicely to cope with that demand.