Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers, pulled off an incredible result against Aberdeen yesterday in the Scottish Premiership as he attempted to lift his players from the depths of Champions League disappointment.
A 6-0 going over of Barry Robson’s men was the perfect tonic to cure the ills of Tuesday night and Rodgers knew that he had to pick a team to deliver.
Which is why the inclusion of Odin Thiago Holm was surprising. In my Predicted Celtic XI, David Turnbull got the nod due to his impressive goalscoring record recently.
But Rodgers went for the 20-year-old Norwegian and whilst he praised the attributes of the young midfielder, he also told him what he must also do if he wants to become a first-team regular.
What Brendan Rodgers told Celtic midfielder Odin Thiago Holm
Rodgers is clearly a fan of the youngster as he explained prior to kick-off why Holm was picked to start against Aberdeen.
Rodgers said [BBC Sportsound], “He’s got all the attributes in terms of being a top player. He needs to get physically stronger in terms of his upper body.
“But he can travel with the ball, he can see a pass and then he can make the pass. He’s obviously played a lot lower down the pitch in his short career so far.
“But he has that possibility to play higher up to get in the box and score goals because technically he’s very, very good and he has a nice little edge to him as well where he could put his foot in and make tackles.
“So I just think it’s just growth for him and development and playing today we, hopefully, can see those qualities.”
Holm did come to Celtic with a good pedigree. He has been tipped for a huge future in the game and at just 20, he still has a lot of development to do.
Indeed, this is not the first time Holm has impressed in a Celtic jersey. Against Rangers he showed his quality in the 1-0 win at Ibrox.
And in his cameo against St Mirren two weeks ago, he was excellent for the 20 minutes he was on the pitch in the 2-1 win at Celtic Park.
Clearly, there is a player in there and under Brendan Rodgers, Holm has the potential to be the next big player to come out of Celtic Park in recent years.
In other news, Seven key passes, 10/10… 23-year-old Celtic player was simply brilliant vs Aberdeen