Eboue Kouassi’s time at Celtic Park was close to coming to an end this summer as he was reportedly told to look for another club in the transfer window. The midfielder who was signed from Russian outfit Krasnodar in January 2017, has featured just 19 times since then for the Hoops and was expected not to be at the club after the transfer window.
However, the midfielder has made it to the Europa League squad which the Bhoys submitted, and that would come as a surprise to many. He also made it to the bench in the Old Firm derby, and it seems that there is still some life in his career at Park Head.
His signing in 2017 was considered to be a good one as the then 19-year-old midfielder was impressive in his stints in Russia and that’s why Rodgers didn’t have any qualms in paying £3m to secure his services. However, it seems that the midfielder has failed to impress the manager as he has hardly featured in his one and a half year stint at the club.
His door to the first team seems distant at the moment as the Hoops have a solid central midfield partnership in Scott Brown and Oliver Ntcham. New signing of Youssouf Mulumbu has also probably pushed him down the pecking order, so it seems like a long way back for the Ivory Coast midfielder to make it into the first team.
However, latest signs have been promising as he has slowly started to feature in matchday squads and he was also part of the first eleven when the Hoops suffered a defeat against Hearts of Midlothian. Maybe Rodgers seems impressed with what Kouassi has been doing in training, and he is slowly trying to give him opportunities to revive his career at Celtic Park. With extra fixtures of Europa League to look after, Kouassi can get opportunities here and there, but he is unlikely to get a sustained run in the first team as long as Brown and Ntcham are fit and available.
Kouassi made his name in the Russian league where he was known for his strength and tenacity in the middle of the park. He is at his best while disrupting the play and his interception numbers were always high in games in Russia.
However, he lacks a bit on the technical front, and maybe that’s the reason why Rodgers hasn’t been able to give him a good go in the first team. Though we believe, in a long season, he can play a decent role, and this forgotten man can be as good as a new signing if he continues to work on his game and improve.
