Thumping results off late might hide the blemishes from the Celtic squad, but the fact of the matter remains that Brendan Rodgers could soon be in need of a centre-back. The likes of Jozo Simunovic and Jack Hendry have flattered to deceive, and it is clear that if the Hoops are looking to improve significantly, they need a better centre-half. They might get away with it in the Scottish Premiership, but if they harbour dreams of doing better in Europe, they should look at other options.
The likes of Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic have done well at the back, but both of them are expected to leave by next summer and maybe even by January. Leicester City have the option to recall back Benkovic and the way he has been performing, one shouldn’t be surprised if Claude Puel brings his defensive beast back to England. It’s essential for the Hoops to not mess about with their targets like they did in the summer window and they should go all out to sign Aberdeen and Scottish international Scott Mckenna soon.
Mckenna recently talked about how surprised he was when he was the centre of attention in the summer window. The defender said,”The numbers they were talking about were something I never dreamed would be associated with my name. It is flattering but the fact that the club turned it down meant that I didn’t have a decision to make and I was focused on playing football.”
Mckenna ticks almost all the boxes as a centre-back as he is strong and decisive in his challenges, reads the game well, can play out from the back and to top it all, the Scotsman is just 21. The way the defender is going, he certainly can take his game a notch higher.
Reports in the summer came out that the Hoops offered £3.5m for him which was rejected by the Dons as the club value him somewhere around £10m. The price might look steep at the moment but such is today’s market that a club needs to shell out such amount to land their targets.
Aberdeen know that they cannot hold on to their star centre back as clubs from England are also showing interest in him and recently reports came out that Premier League club Wolves were said to be monitoring his situation. The West Midland clubs shouldn’t have too much trouble in shelling such an amount if they are keen on the player.
Therefore, the Hoops need to step up the pursuit in the January window and try to get him and not mess around as they did in the case of John McGinn who went on to join Aston Villa after Celtic’s two bids were rejected by the Hibs. McKenna is one for the future and Rodgers can solve the centre back problem for the long-term by making a significant investment in January.
