CALLUM McGREGOR is convinced Kasper Schmeichel will be a roaring success at Celtic.
The 37-year-old legendary Denmark international keeper has played a mere 90 competitive minutes since succeeding his friend Joe Hart as the champions’ No.1.
But captain McGregor admitted he had already seen AND heard enough to believe Schmeichel will be a big noise at Parkhead.
The strapping six-foot plus shotstopper, capped 105 times by his country, made his debut against former club Manchester City in North Carolina during the Hoops’ US tour.
IN WITH A SHOUT…Kasper Schmeichel is being tipped to be a roaring success at Celtic.
He played the first-half before Finnish international Viljami Sinisalo, the club’s £1million buy from Aston Villa, took over after the break.
Schmeichel, who played in his country’s four Euro 24 games before their last-16 exit against hosts Germany, showed his pedigree with two top-class saves from dangerman Erling Haaland.
He was unfortunate when an effort from Oscar Bobb spun away from him and towards the net after his initial sprawling block. The ball floated past Liam Scales on the line and the netminder was clearly frustrated at being beaten – even in a pre-season friendly.
Influential midfielder McGregor is already a fan of the Great Dane and said: “It’s brilliant to have Kasper at the club. I’ve said this for years and years, it can’t just be one player driving the whole thing.
“It’s impossible, there is too much going on with too many players to deal with. You need five or six leaders to take the share of that responsibility.
“You’ll find with the best teams, they have that amount of guys who are really good leaders. We have that. There’s Cameron Carter-Vickers, Greg Taylor, Alistair Johnston and now Kasper – all these guys are sharing the responsibility of driving the standards every single day.
CELTIC VIEW…a relaxed Kasper Schmeichel chats to the media.
“It makes my job easier, for sure. When you have characters who think the same as you, guys who want to push and win things, with enough of them in the building then you have a good chance.”
McGregor, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “We’ve had a couple of chats already. We spent a good bit of time over in America together and after just five minutes I knew he was on the level.
“He has had a hugely successful career, but he still wants to achieve.
“He’s an experienced goalkeeper, but after just a few minutes I could tell what he was about. He’s a proper character. You can tell that just by having a conversation with him, but it’s also when you get on the pitch you see what people are like.
“When we played against Manchester City there was a moment when he berated Matt O’Riley.
“When you talk about demanding the most out of the players, that was an example of the type of thing I’m talking about.
“It’s about standards and behaviours. If you concede a shot you care about it. You take it personally and that’s what builds a winning culture.
“But he’s probably made four or five really top saves already. So, we know we have a top goalkeeper with the personality to go with it. Because if there is one thing you need at Celtic’s it’s personality to go and play.
“It can be a tough place to play football and you need that personality behind you and he has got that in spades.”
THOU SHALT NOT PASS…Kasper Schmeichel and Liam Scales combine to repel this raid in Celtic’s 4-1 win over Chelsea in Indiana.
There are obvious similarities between Schmeichel and Hart, who retired after claiming his seventh honour at Celtic following the 1-0 Scottish Cup win over Rangers at Hampden on May 25.
The 75 times-capped England international was 34 years of age when arrived on a bargain £1million deal from Spurs in August 2021 and had three superb seasons at Parkhead.
McGregor added: “I don’t want to compare the two. They are totally different. They are both great goalkeepers in their own right, so I don’t think it’s right to compare them.
“Joe was a top goalkeeper who was brilliant for us. Kasper is a top goalkeeper and, hopefully, he can be brilliant for us, as well.
“But in terms of a seamless transition, it’s probably as close as you’re going to get in terms of quality, experience and personality.
“They’re two different people, but, hopefully, they’re equally successful.”
