Celtic fans will love what US media have said about Auston Trusty vs Mexico
Celtic defender Auston Trusty should be a regular starter when club football returns after impressing on international duty for the USA.
Trusty is now into his third season at Celtic since joining from Sheffield United for around £6million in 2024.
The 28-year-old has impressed for large parts of his Hoops career so far, but is currently fighting for his place in Martin O'Neill's starting eleven.
O'Neill dropped Trusty for consecutive clashes against Rangers and Ferencvaros last month before restoring him to the side in another game against their Old Firm rivals.
He has shown that he deserves consistent starts for Celtic after the break with a strong showing against Mexico over the weekend.
Several American media outlets have backed up his impressive stats by heaping praise on Trusty after their 3-0 friendly win.
Auston Trusty 'didn't put a foot wrong' in Mexico win
Trusty has been forced to compete for his place in Mauricio Pochettino's side, with several centre-backs being rotated throughout the current break.
He lined up alongside Crystal Palace star Chris Richards against Mexico as the USA kept their first clean sheet since the World Cup.
The Celtic star had 90 per cent pass accuracy (54/60), made seven defensive contributions and won all eight of his attempted aerial duels on a successful night for the Americans.
He was praised by national media in the aftermath of the rival clash, with Sports Illustrated saying: "Trusty didn’t put a foot wrong defensively. He was often the first pass out of the back and was effective with his distribution."
While ESPN talked up his chances of regular starts in the future, writing: "Worked well with Richards and was dominant in his aerial battles. Trusty moved a step higher in the depth chart for central defenders."
Then USA Today heaped similar praise on Trusty, as they said: "The job next to Richards is wide open as competitive matches approach. Trusty did nothing to hurt his chances of getting more looks in that spot in this one. He's not the most dominant or noticeable, but he seems to do the little things well."
Stats show that Trusty should start next to Cameron Carter-Vickers
O'Neill seems unlikely to stick with the back three formation that saw Celtic lose to Rangers on home turf in the Premiership directly before the break.
Carter-Vickers is a regular starter for the Hoops at centre-back, and O'Neill's choice for his defensive partner is likely to be between Trusty and Liam Scales going forward.
Trusty has shown that he deserves the spot regularly, with better successful passes (78.1 to 59.7), aerial duels won (3.54 to 2.83) and ball recoveries (3.86 to 2.62) per 90 stats in the Premiership so far.
Celtic also have a better xG against while he is on the pitch this season (1.1 to 1.12), and O'Neill's decision should be obvious ahead of Celtic's trip to Motherwell this Sunday.