Brendan Rodgers signed Australian winger Daniel Arzani on loan from Manchester City, and his signing was met with a lot of expectation as the Australian winger impressed in the World Cup in Russia with his little cameos here and there. However, ever since he arrived at Park Head, he has been a forgotten man as Arzani has failed to get into matchday squads let alone in the first eleven.
A few days earlier, reports were doing the round that if Arzani doesn’t make an appearance for the Hoops by December, the 19-year-old winger can exit the club because of a specific clause. Rodgers had to comment on such reports which now has turned futile as the boss said,”There is nothing (An exit clause). His situation is very simple, He is a 19-year-old boy who has come in for two years to get experience. He has burst onto the scene and of course, they will want him to do well, but there is no exit clause.”
The manager makes the situation as clear as daylight and Arzani is set to stay in Glasgow until City themselves call the player back which is highly unlikely. Rodgers as of now doesn’t feel the young winger is ready to take on the challenges of the Scottish Premiership. The Northern Irish manager explained earlier why he hasn’t played.
He had said,”He came out of nowhere and went to the World Cup, became the youngest player there. This is a boy who had never played 90 minutes of senior football, but people are expecting him to come in and be like Eden Hazard or Harry Kewell. Sorry to burst the bubble, but he needs a bit of time to build up his fitness and confidence.”
Rodgers’ treatment of the player did bring in a few criticisms towards him and that would have heightened further if the young winger would have returned to Manchester City early. However, Rodgers took the right step and cleared out the air regarding the 19-year-old’s future.
The Australian grew up playing street soccer and as a result, he has a special kind of flair to his game. His dribbling skills and pace left defenders on their backside in the Australian league but doing that in a much tougher and physical league is a different proposition altogether. It seems that Rodgers is still not impressed with the youngster and he doesn’t feel he is ready to make senior appearances at the top level.
The good thing is that Arzani is on a two-year loan, so there is still plenty of time to break into the squad and first team. However, it must be frustrating for the player and the fans who wanted to see this talented player in action at Celtic Park. The wait is set to carry on but now there are no fears of him returning back to Manchester City early.
