‘Nightmare’ Cameron Carter-Vickers claim made after Celtic source’s £10m reveal – pundit
Alex McLeish has hailed Cameron Carter-Vickers for “proving everyone wrong” after completing a permanent move to Celtic.
The former Scotland manager, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 24-year-old overcame a “nightmare” start to life at Parkhead to become “one of the best players” in the Scottish Premiership.
Celtic confirmed last week (10 June) that the centre-back has signed a four-year deal to turn his loan move from Tottenham permanent.
A Tottenham source told Football Insider (11 June) Celtic have agreed to pay £6million up front with a further £4million in add-ons and bonuses.
McLeish admitted he was not convinced by Carter-Vickers’ performances in the early stages of the 2021/22 campaign.
However, he insisted the USA international has proven his worth as a Celtic “stalwart”.
“When you see the season he had, despite an absolute nightmare of a start, you think that guy has got a lot of bottle.
“He’s turned out to be one of the best players in the Scottish Premiership last season. Give credit where it’s due.
“Despite everybody thinking Celtic maybe signed an inferior player that shouldn’t be playing for Celtic, he proved everybody wrong, including myself.
“The first few weeks were really, really tough for Celtic, including Carter-Vickers. He turned out to be a bit of a stalwart for the whole season.
“That is brilliant, a tremendous mentality, so well done.”
Carter-Vickers played 45 times across all competitions during his spell at Parkhead.
He has left Tottenham after playing just five times for the senior side.
In other news, expert suggests Hoops signing Connor Barron on buy-to-loan deal.