Callum McGregor has carried the Celtic midfield on his back for far too long.
The Celtic captain is playing an unsustainable amount of football, and the reality is that the team looks completely lost whenever he is not on the pitch.
McGregor desperately needs help right now, but Celtic also have to start actively planning for his long-term replacement.
Former defender Charlie Mulgrew recently offered an interesting suggestion to solve this exact problem:
“I see (Elliot) Watt,” Mulgrew stated. “I think if (Jens) Berthel Askou got the Celtic job. I think he would probably go for him (Watt) and Callum McGregor at the base.”
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Jens Berthel Askou backed to sign Elliot Watt and Elijah Just if he becomes Celtic manager
There has been a lot of noise around Askou swapping Motherwell for Celtic, and if that happens, then bringing his midfield anchor with him makes perfect sense.
Pairing a natural controller like Watt next to McGregor at the base of the midfield is a no-brainer. It gives the 32-year-old the ultimate platform to dictate play without being forced to do all the defensive heavy lifting himself.
More importantly, bringing in a player of Watt’s profile finally gives Celtic a viable succession plan for when McGregor can no longer play every single minute of every single game, as Mulgrew suggested on The Breakdown.
“Just is a good player, said Mulgrew. “I see Watt. I think if Berthel Askou got the Celtic job. I think he would try to take them two.
“I think he would probably go for him (Watt) and Callum McGregor at the base. I think Just could definitely play as well.”
Watt’s stats for Motherwell compared to Callum McGregor in the Premiership this season
Let’s be honest, this hasn’t been McGregor’s best season in a Celtic shirt; he has had his own faults, but the mess around him is far worse.
If everyone thought Celtic’s striker issue is a problem, then someone else could make the argument that the midfield is a bigger issue, and fresh legs are needed in the summer.
Nonetheless, this is how Watt, who has been thriving at Motherwell this term, compares to McGregor in the Premiership.
- McGregor’s games: 30
- Starts: 29
- Goals: 2
- Assists: 2
- Tackles (per game): 1.5
- Interceptions: 0.9
- Fouls committed: 0.9
- Was fouled: 0.3
- Clearances: 1.3
- Average Passes: 70.1
- Key Passes: 0.9
- Dribbles: 0.5
- Man of the Match: 2
- WhoScored rating: 6.87
- Watt’s games: 27
- Starts: 27
- Goals: 4
- Assists: 3
- Tackles (per game): 2
- Interceptions: 1.1
- Fouls committed: 1
- Was fouled: 1.3
- Clearances: 1.7
- Average Passes: 83.4
- Key Passes: 1.2
- Dribbles: 0.7
- Man of the Match: 4
- WhoScored rating: 7.16
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