Scaling new heights

The plan for central defence this season was clear.  Carl Starfelt would be allowed to leave, and Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke would be signed.  Liam Scales would return to Aberdeen on either a loan or permanent basis.  Stephen Welsh and Yuki Kobayashi were not expected to play significant roles.

Before August was out, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Nawrocki, Welsh and Kobayashi were all injured.  Celtic dropped their first points of the season at home to St Johnstone, with Scales and Lagerbielke in a shaky looking central defence.  We anticipated a difficult time the following week at Ibrox.

Against St Johnstone, Liam Scales was caught in the headlights when defending a couple of over-the-top balls that forced him to turn back and clear.  One which came late in the game could have resulted in the visitors leaving with all three points.  On moments like this, careers can turn.

Newco were watching.  One week later, they tried the same tactic against Liam, but he was ready for it.  To be fair to Newco, Celtic were a bit deeper than they were against St Johnstone, so they had less space to aim for behind the defender.  This allowed Liam to attack several of the attempts to turn him, or simply clear if the ball fell behind him.

He played every minute of our Champions League games but partnered Carter-Vickers, Welsh, Lagerbielke, Phillips and even Iwata during the campaign.  Now, he is without doubt our first choice to partner Carter-Vickers, no matter who else is available.

Importantly, he is left footed, on receipt of the ball he can open the game up more naturally than Starfelt, who played left last season but preferred his right.  Left footed defenders are rarer and therefore more valuable than the more common alternative.

By the summer, he will be 26 years old.  He is not the finished article, like Carter-Vickers, and he doesn’t bring the ball forward, like Kris Ajer, but he is a better defender and less error-prone than Kris.

Were it not for how reliant the manager has become on him in the middle, he may have plugged gaps on the left.  At this age, Liam is running out of developmental road but he is entering the peak five years of his career.  Given a fair wind, his partnership with Cameron could sustain for a few years to come.  There is no surprise Celtic have opened talks on extending his contract.