With a new striking duo of Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard starting the season on fire, questions will no doubt be asked of Leigh Griffiths’ Celtic future.
Griffiths is just two goals away from reaching 100 for the club, and has proved an impeccable servant since signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers back in 2014.
The past two seasons have seen the striker cut a frustrated figure however, with Dembele often grabbing the headlines with big-game goals and consistent run-outs over Griffiths. This has led to the striker coming out in the past and voicing his annoyance at a lack of minutes on the pitch.
And with the addition of Odsonne Edouard for a club-record £9m, Celtic will be looking to get a lot back from the young 20-year-old Frenchman. This would’ve meant opportunities for Scotland’s number one striker would’ve been sparse.
However, the new 3-5-2 formation may provide Griffiths with a chink of light. Brendan Rodgers has been playing with just one up front since arriving at Parkhead in 2016. However, his new system means that there’s one more spot up for grabs, and Griffiths will fancy himself to net on the occasions Rodgers decides to rest one of his French duo.
What Griffiths needs to concern himself with first and foremost is ensuring his injury plagued days are behind him. Dembele has proved in the past to be injury-prone, and has just picked up a fresh one for another couple of weeks after coming off against Rosenborg with a hamstring tweak.
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Ultimately, Griffiths will know that the impressive striking partnership isn’t impenetrable. A scorer of big-game goals himself, it’s all now down to the former Hibernian striker’s attitude.
As it stands, Griffiths still has a huge role to play at Celtic and will get chances throughout the campaign. In essence, his situation has largely remained the same in that he’s still looking to topple one player ahead of him in the pecking order.
However, if he feels he’s too good to be sitting on the bench or feels he needs games elsewhere – this would ultimately be the deciding factor in where his future lay.