In an exclusive interview to Football Insider, former Kilmarnock defender Alex Bruce has tipped Celtic’s Scottish international striker Leigh Griffiths to finish his career at Celtic Park. The ex Premiership defender believes Griffiths can continue to pose a threat in attack for another couple of years, considering of course that he remains at Parkhead beyond the summer. Speaking to Open Goal, Griffiths recently admitted that he was interested in a two-year deal, and went on to hint that he could hang up his boots after that.
Alex Bruce has clarified that Leigh Griffiths could finish his career at Celtic, and the former Kilmarnock man even hailed the striker’s quality. The defender said, “We never know, do we? They’ve stuck by him during his problems off the field and he’s come back last season to hit a few vital goals. The one thing that he is up there is a natural goal scorer. He’s got that canny knack of putting the ball in the back of the net. To have him in the squad, someone who they call upon to grab them a goal, I don’t see any reason why not.”
How Has Leigh Griffiths’ Premiership Season Gone?
The Scottish forward has been a member of the Celtic squad since joining from Wolves back in January 2014. Although his career trend at Celtic Park did look to be on the up for the most part, the 18/19 Premiership campaign seemed to bring the forward to his breaking point.
Griffiths was forced to take a leave of absence from the side due to personal issues, and this meant that the Scot would miss more than a full year of football action. The striker’s path back to match fitness after this interval wasn’t an easy one, to say the least.
It wasn’t until July of last year that the former Wolves man actually rejoined first-team training, and despite playing in a few fixtures, a host of injuries kept the forward out of the picture until December. Upon returning though, the Scot seemed to get into a good run of form, wherein he even created a decent relationship with the Hoops’ French talisman Odsonne Edouard. Neil Lennon’s switch to a 3-5-2 system came as a saving grace for Griffiths’ season, and it’s safe to say that he’s kicked on since then.
The Celtic striker’s best season in the Premiership came back during the 2015/16 campaign when he managed a quite stellar record of 31 goals and five assists from 34 league fixtures. Although he’s not even gone close to achieving a similar kind of return this time around, the Scottish forward’s exploits for the Celts have resulted in nine goals and four assists from his 21 outings for the Parkhead club.
Leigh Griffiths Could Finish His Career At Celtic: Should Lennon Look To Keep Him?
The forward is only 29-years-old, and undoubtedly still has a lot of gas left in his tank. The trust that Neil Lennon seemed to place in Griffiths to have him play alongside Edouard showcases just how much quality the former Wolves man has in his locker. There has been a lot of talk of a new striking addition at Celtic Park, and although that could eventually prove to be necessary, keeping Griffiths in Parkhead beyond the duration of his current contract could prove to be a step in the right direction.
