Brendan Rodgers has a number of positions he needs to strengthen this summer.
The Celtic manager has plenty of cash to do it but, generally, fans believe Rodgers must strengthen the fullback, striker and wing positions at Celtic as a priority.
But many Celtic fans will also agree that the midfield area is probably the strongest part of the Parkhead club’s team and doesn’t need addressed. Yet.
But it seems that there is one player who is declining at Paradise and that his decline, although ‘gentle’ is something Rodgers may have to address at Celtic in the near future.
Why Callum McGregor’s decline at Celtic is not Brendan Rodgers’ most pressing issue
Callum McGregor has been a stalwart at Celtic having won many trebles, a second nine-in-a-row and watched Rangers die. He has seen it all at the club.
However, it seems that Alan Morrison of Celtic By Numbers has seen a decline in his performances but admits he is still the club’s most important player.
Morrison told A Celtic State of Mind, “I don’t want to be having this conversation about Callum McGregor, that’s what I’m saying.
“I don’t want to go through that again. The thing with McGregor is the decline in his performance numbers is absolutely clear. It’s quite a gentle decline, but it is a consistent decline.
“It’s a decline across any range of metrics you want to consider. However, so long as he’s playing the role that he’s playing, and so long as he’s performing at the level he’s playing, even a declining McGregor is worth a huge amount to the Celtic team. The way that I would bring that to life a bit is to say, what would it cost Celtic in the market to buy Callum McGregor as he is today, in terms of a player of that quality plays the way he plays.
“If you were to go out to the market and say, that’s what I want to buy but I want a 25-year-old, how much would that cost you? It would be a tremendous amount of money, which is why I was supportive of him having this long contract because although he is declining, he’s still hugely valuable to the way Celtic play and probably irreplaceable at Celtic’s price point. Does that make sense?”
Yeah. But, when does that natural age of progression start to accelerate and when does that tipping point come where the trade-off between the way he’s performing essentially isn’t worth it anymore? That’s a really tricky thing.”
McGregor is under contract at Celtic until 2028 and there is no doubt the Hoops do need a contingency plan. The fact remains that whilst the Celtic captain is getting older, like Alan says, McGregor is still head and shoulders above any other midfielder in Scotland.
The legendary midfielder is a class act and at 31, still runs rings around other players in the SPFL.
