There’s little hope left for Celtic in terms of scripting a historic ‘ten in a row’ Premiership crown. But they have shown signs of improvement of late and should focus on conquering the Scottish Cup to avoid a trophy drought following an incredible quadruple treble triumph over the past four seasons.
While the focus must remain on reshuffling and strengthening the setup in summer, Celtic outcast Marian Shved, currently on loan at Mechelen, has recently opened up on his time at Parkhead.
“In retrospect, that may not have been the right choice. If I knew what I know now, I might have chosen the Belgian league and signed with Genk. I don’t want to talk about Celtic. I am sitting here now and I am good here. We will see what happens. ”
The 23-year-old Ukraine international told GVB that he rejected a move to Genk and opted to join the Hoops back in January 2019. He was then loaned back to his former club Karpaty Lviv for the rest of the 2018-19 campaign before returning to Glasgow ahead of the 2019-20 season. Despite finding the net on his debut, Shved was not in Neil Lennon’s plan who found him ‘not getting at the level as the rest of them [other Celtic players] are’.
Meanwhile, the youngster had a tough time initially at Jupiler Pro League but is making his strides now with goals and assists. He has grabbed a starting status down the wing and earned gaffer Wouter Vrancken’s trust who is willing to tie him down on permanent terms upon completion of the season-long loan stint.
Celtic Outcast Shved Could Have Had His Impact This Year
Things, however, has changed a bit over the course of the past six months. The Bhoys have lost their charisma and got humiliated time and again by Steven Gerrard’s Rangers. The Gers are now the runaway Premiership leaders closing in on their first league title in 10 years, whereas persistent fitness concerns and instability led to Celtic’s downfall.
James Forrest has missed out months of football through an injury which eventually turned out to be a major blow in their bid to defend the title. Ryan Christie failed to live up to the expectations from the right-hand flank, while the sudden exit of energetic Jeremie Frimpong has led to a further dearth of creativity from the wide areas.
Lennon could have tried his luck with Celtic outcast Shved, but his revival in Belgium might see him parting ways permanently if the ‘option to buy’ (as claimed by Transfermarket) option gets triggered. It simply did not work out for the Ukraine international at the Paradise, but he could have (and should) been treated in a better way at Celtic.
