25-year-old must be sold: Three things we learned about Celtic in win v Albion Rovers
COMMENT By Harvey Byrne
Football Insider analyses three things we learned from Celtic’s 3-0 win against Albion Rovers in Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie.
Bitton must be sold
Nir Bitton was handed the opportunity to prove his worth in the midfield on Sunday. However, fans would be excused for wondering what he actually did while on the pitch. The 25-year-old has failed to cement a place in his side’s starting eleven under Brendan Rodgers this season and would have been looking to give a positive display against an Albion Rovers side placed in the bottom half of League One. But, he ultimately did little and looked like a passenger in an otherwise impressive Hoops side. With three years left on his contract it looks like Bitton’s time at Celtic Park is nearing it’s end and he must be sold if the club are to progress to the next level.
Celtic are taking the cup seriously
In the modern age it is not surprising to see a big team field a weaker side against a lower ranked team in the cup competitions. However, Rodgers fielded a strong line-up in a signal to supporters that he will take the Scottish Cup seriously. Celtic have already won the Scottish League Cup this campaign, while they look well on their way to take home their sixth consecutive league title. It now looks likely that the Scottish giants are looking to secure the treble and bring home a cup they haven’t won since their 2013 3-0 victory over Hibernian.
Injury hasn’t affected Tierney
Young players have often taken some time to reach their former performance levels after suffering a long term injury. However that doesn’t seem to have been the case for Kieran Tierney. The 19-year-old hasn’t played since a 1-0 victory over Rangers in mid-October, but he returned to the side on Sunday and showed that he is ready to come back in and reclaim the left-back position from Emilio Izaguirre. The young starlet gave little away in defence, while providing a number of highly threatening runs on the attack. The youngster showed his class in the first half by setting up Scott Sinclair on the edge of the box for his brilliant opening strike.
In other Celtic news, the Scottish champions have had a £1million bid rejected for this African goalscorer.
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