Out of all the Celtic players this season, who would you think has impressed Brendan Rodgers the most? Kyogo Furuhashi? Daizen Maeda? Or Matt O’Riley even?
All three have been excellent for the Celtic manager so far and all three have made a massive contribution to his tenure so far.
But here’s the thing. We are not just talking about impressing the manager at Celtic. We are talking out of Brendan Rodgers‘ whole career. So it would have to be one of those three right?
Wrong. It is a £500k signing from Shamrock Rovers that has Rogers raving.
What is Rodgers saying about Liam Scales at Celtic?
The Celtic manager has been blown away by 25-year-old Irishman, Liam Scales. Stepping in due to a defensive crisis, Scales has performed above and beyond Rodgers’ expectations.
So much so, that the Hoops boss has claimed that he has never been so surprised in his whole career to see someone improve so much.
Rodgers said [BBC Sportsound], “He’s outstanding. So happy for him and he’s probably one of the biggest surprises, I would say, in my career as a coach.
“Only because I hadn’t seen him play so much and there was other ones ahead of him.
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“And through ones leaving, and ones being injured, I’ve seen enough in training to give him the opportunity.
“You ideally always want the left side of centre half of your team that has good pace and has intelligence. And he’s all of that.
“You see him and how he’s playing performing, he’s really grown as a player and I’m so happy for him because it’s got pressure over from Ireland.
“And there’s a big focus on the Irish players and they come to here but he’s been outstanding and obviously delighted for him as he’s now into the Republic of Ireland squad.”
What can I add that hasn’t been said already about the Irishman? Maybe just the fact that he has been so good this season that he has been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad and looks set to receive his first cap.
Scales is one to watch in the international break. With games against Greece and Gibraltar coming up, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the defender feature in one, if not both, of these fixtures.
Gaining an international cap would be incredible recognition from where he has come from and if he keeps it up, a new contract at Celtic will not be too far away either.
In other news, Kris Boyd now says Celtic could already make a £6m profit on 24-year-old signed in January