There has been a lot of noise around Celtic’s transfer business this summer.
Let’s be honest, even though Celtic missed out on the Treble by the skin of their teeth last season, and are clear favourites to win several trophies again this term, the noise hasn’t exactly been positive.
Yes, Brendan Rodgers has also been pretty vocal around that matter, but thankfully, the players are doing their talking on the field of play.
And, as Celtic eased past Livingston on Saturday afternoon in the Premiership, nobody is impressing more than the new kid on the block, Benjamin Nygren.
Michael Stewart sings the praises of Celtic’s new boy, Benjamin Nygren
Celtic paid FC Nordsjaelland £2 million for Nygren’s talents, and many expected him to replace Nicolas Kuhn and play on the right flank.
But Nygren has been deployed in the number eight role, and he is seriously impressing Michael Stewart, who thought he was ‘the best player on the park by a country mile’ against Livi.
Speaking on the Scottish Football Social Club, Stewart explained how Nygren is proving that Celtic ‘don’t need to spend incredible sums of money’ to bring in high-quality players.
“Now, Nygren has come in, and he has been a standout,” said Stewart. “He was the standout player on Saturday as well (against Livingston). That’s a great finish with his right foot.
“He was the best player on the park by a country mile. Proving that you don’t need to go and spend incredible sums of money to get quality in. You have just got to be on point and actually do your research on your players.
“He comes into a squad whose core is really strong, so he is adding on top of that, to a core that is already good, and it only benefits.
“Even if you are bringing in a player who is a bit of a maverick, you might have a slight worry about whether they are going to be a real positive or they might have a little edge to them. See, when you have got that strong core, you can actually take a bit of a gamble with them because the majority are going to pull them along.
“With Nygren, you wouldn’t have any concerns about that because clearly, as you said, an intelligent footballer, and he is already fitted into the squad perfectly.”
How Nygren has rated in the opening few weeks for Celtic
It’s never easy playing for a pressure cooker of a club like Celtic because winning, winning, and winning is all that matters.
Yes, Celtic have been utterly dominant, so in that aspect, the foundations are really strong, but as Arne Engels showed last season, it’s not easy coming in and making your mark straight away.
But Nygren has showcased this in bucket loads, and he deserves his flowers.
- Nygren’s WhoScored rating vs St Mirren: 6.71
- Vs Aberdeen: 9.17
- Vs Livingston: 9.48
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