Celtic, under Brendan Rodgers, have witnessed an epitome of success in the past two seasons where they won a ‘double treble’ to emphasize their supremacy and are currently on a run to win seven successive Premiership titles. The Hoops, however, are expecting a better contest this term in their title defence following Rangers‘ resurgence under Steven Gerrard, the iconic Liverpool and England midfielder, who has roped in 10 new faces so far to restore the lost pride at the Ibrox.
The Parkhead boss, on the contrary, has only made the loan moves of custodian Scott Bain and young striking sensation Odsonne Edouard permanent with the latter being tied down on a club-record fee from Paris St-Germain. Hopes are high from young winger Lewis Morgan following his blistering spell with St Mirren last season that earned the Scottish minnows a Premiership promotion. However, the Hoops have spent way too much time in chasing Hibernian midfield sensation Scott McGinn as Neil Lennon, the current Hibs boss is playing hardball over the Scotsman’s impending Celtic move.
The 23-year-old Scottish international is representing his current employers in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers and the champions of Scotland must not stretch it furthermore if they truly are in need of McGinn’s services. Otherwise, they should weigh up alternatives and Rodgers, the former Liverpool gaffer, must explore the opportunity of a reunion with Lazar Markovic – the once-promising Reds youngster who is currently a forgotten man in Merseyside.
The Serbian winger was acquired by Rodgers as a 20-year-old back in 2014 for a fee of around £20m from Benfica where he made significant strides but failed to replicate a similar show for the English giants. He later had some underwhelming loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and most recently Anderlecht where he rediscovered his form to some extent.
Jurgen Klopp, the Northern Irishman’s successor as the new Anfield chief, labeled Markovic as surplus to requirements and the Reds are now ready to offload their fringe resource on a permanent basis. They have set a price tag as low as £5m amid interest from Greek giants Olympiacos and the player, only 24, have time to fix his derailed career if handed a fresh start.
Although he is nowhere similar to McGinn in terms of playing style, role and position, an abundance of options in the middle of the park will make the Scotsman look like a luxury recruit at Celtic. Markovic, on the other hand, can be utilized down the flanks and also as a second striker – a role in which Markovic was tried out by Rodgers during his Liverpool stint.
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The player recently scored against Blackburn Rovers in a pre-season friendly tie and also played the entire first half against Borussia Dortmund in their US tour for the International Champions Cup contest. He looked lively on both occasions and Celtic, on a mission of maintaining a domestic supremacy, should consider recruiting the youngster to add depth down the right flank alongside James Forrest.
