Jim Duffy’s four main contenders to leave Celtic as Rodgers eyes squad cuts
The speculation surrounding Celtic and the possible summer transfer additions had already begun before last season officially ended.
With much of the headlines being grabbed by who could potentially replace Celtic icon, Joe Hart, rumours about who will be coming to Celtic when the window officially opens will be coming thick and fast.
But on top of that, to keep the balance of the squad correct, players will also need to move on this summer.
We discussed this week how Brendan Rodgers could potentially oversee eight Celtic departures this summer.
The number of fringe players Celtic have at the club, whilst important, will need to be balanced out when Rodgers adds to the squad this summer.
And Jim Duffy has named four that he believes simply do not have an immediate future at the club.
Duffy believes Mikey Johnston and three others ‘will go’ this summer
The former Hibs boss was asked by a Celtic fan who he thought had a future at the club.
With many of last summer’s transfer incomings under the spotlight, Duffy named two of them that he believes will definitely leave alongside two other fringe players.
Duffy said [Superscoreboard], “I think I would go for [Maik] Nawrocki, I’d keep him and the other two [Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm] can go.
“I think [James] Forrest will definitely be there. I think Yang will still be there. I think [Hyeongyu] Oh will go and I think Mikey Johnston will go.”
I don’t think many Celtic fans would disagree with the majority on that list. However, I do think that Odin Thaigo Holm still has a future at the club.
Why Celtic must keep Odin Thiago Holm
The biggest problem the Norwegian has had since his move to Parkhead is dealing with the competition ahead of him.
Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, shakes hands with Odin Thiago Holm of Celtic after the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Rangers FC and …
Let’s face it, he’s never going to dislodge Callum McGregor. And with Tomoki Iwata and Paulo Bernardo ahead of him in the pecking order, Holm had a quest in front of him to break into the Celtic first team.
At only 21 years of age, the young Norwegian u21 international still has plenty of time ahead of him to develop into a good player for Celtic.
If I were Brendan Rodgers (who is a fan of the youngster), I would look to loan him out to another Scottish side to get him regular football and used to the Scottish game.
Then and only then could a decision be made on his future but to discard him without really seeing what he can do would be deeply unfair to a young player who was once tipped as one of the best players of his generation.
