Celtic have been linked with Ukrainian winger Maryan Shved, and according to the latest reports from the Scotsman, the 21-year-old didn’t travel with his side Karpaty Lviv for a winter training camp. The report adds that the Ukranian international is being valued at around £2m. The club’s Vice President Oleg Smalyichuk revealed that the player was omitted from the training squad as he was trying to finalise a move.
That move could very well be with Celtic as the reigning Scottish champions have been linked with him in the past few days. The youngster is enjoying a good season in the Ukranian top division as he has managed eight goals and three assists in 17 league appearances.
However, a signing like this doesn’t make much sense as Brendan Rodgers has plenty of options for the wide regions. The club has already signed Oliver Burke (a winger) on loan, and Timothy Weah is also someone who can play on the flanks.
James Forrest is nearly undroppable from the first team, and we don’t see how Shved would make an impact in this Celtic squad. The signing of him would also mean curtains for someone like Lewis Morgan and Jonny Hayes as they are waiting in the wings to get their chances.
Maybe Rodgers is trying to secure the long term future by signing Shved as James Forrest was linked with a move to Liverpool and reports (The Express) added that the English heavyweights could look to land him in the summer. The signing of Burke and Weah is only on loan so maybe Brendan might be seeing the bigger picture here.
However, that is is the only case we can make for the manager here and apart from that there shouldn’t be any reason to sign a winger. The team should instead concentrate on pulling off a deal for a right back or centre back as the club is likely to lose Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic at the end of this season.
Coming to Shved, the youngster is still a work in progress. His numbers are impressive so far and given that he has an eye for a goal makes him an interesting prospect. The 21-year-old shows decent pace and dribbling skills but adjusting to the Scottish division wouldn’t be easy for him. With just a few days remaining in the January window, Rodgers is probably wasting time by getting a deal done for a winger who is neither required nor would make an instant impact to the squad.
