Premiership giants Celtic have been in dismal form over the last couple of months, and their record across the various competitions they’re involved in have all been rather questionable as well. Despite coming into the season as the reigning champions, Neil Lennon’s men have struggled to find any sort of consistency. This campaign was meant to be an extremely important one in the history of the football club, in that it was supposed to lead to their tenth straight league title. Although that task is still achievable, it does look like a long shot the way things stand right now.
The Hoops are a whopping eleven points off Rangers at the top of the table, and their faltering form has done very little to help their cause. Not only have they been poor in the Premiership, but they’ve also somehow managed to crash out of both the Betfred Cup and more importantly, the Europa League.
Ross County came to Parkhead and picked up an unlikely 2-0 win to send the Celts out of the domestic competition, while they’ve failed to win even a single game in the Europa League group stages so far. With just one fixture left in the grand stage, they are left with no chance of qualification, irrespective of the next result.
What Kind Of Transfers Did Celtic Make Last Summer?
The Bhoys actually had what was branded one of their best transfer windows in recent times last summer, and although it did look like that on paper, it hasn’t quite panned out the way Lennon would’ve expected. Albian Ajeti was brought in as a striking option to provide competition to Odsonne Edouard, but the Swiss ace has struggled to settle into the team.
Shane Duffy was another big name signing whose start to life as a Celtic player has been abysmal, to say the least. Apart from Milan loanee Diego Laxalt, none of the players they brought in during the summer have offered anything positive to the team. Given their predicament, picking three Celtic players who have to up their game was never going to be a difficult task.
Picking Three Celtic Players Who Have To Up Their Game:
Jeremie Frimpong
The 19-year-old Dutch full-back started the season in excellent fashion, but like the team itself, has massively fallen off the pace over the last number of weeks. Despite being a speedy customer who’s capable of carrying the ball forward himself and delivering crosses into the box, the level of application that Frimpong has displayed has been questionable, to say the least.
Not only has his attacking contributions decreased, but his defensive work-rate has receded considerably as well. Unless he ups his game in the coming week, Hatem Elhamed could gradually become a regular in the team.
Scott Brown
The veteran midfielder has been an important part of this Celtic team for a long time now, but finding an alternative for the role is something that Neil Lennon’s men have failed to do. As good as he can be in full flow, it must be considered that his rising age is doing the Scot no favours. Often seen lacking in pace when compared to some of the players that he’s faced up with, Brown’s defensive struggles have been no secret since the start of the campaign. Not just that, his attacking contributions have been quite limited this season too. With a general lack of sharpness in his play and an apparent lethargy as well, finding an alternate option to Brown must become a priority.
Albian Ajeti
The Swiss striker has failed to live up to the hype so far, but it must be conceded that he was a major flop at former club West Ham United as well. For starters, the scouting process that Celtic conducted to decide on Ajeti as a good option needs to be questioned. At least from first-look, Ajeti isn’t the kind of striker that’s suited to Neil Lennon’s style of play, in that he is very much a player who thrives inside the box. For Celtic though, their striker is required to hold the ball up and link-up play, both of which are things Ajeti isn’t particularly strong at. Unless they’re able to develop the Swiss ace as a player, this is a signing that could’ve been avoided.
