There has been a lot of change at Celtic Park over the past seven months or so. Such is the case when a new manager like Brendan Rodgers comes in to a club with the history and pride of Celtic.
New signings, old players getting new leases on life and cultural changes are all part of the process. While there has been plenty to like from signings like Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair, perhaps no player has been more positively affected by Rodgers’ arrival at the club than one Stuart Armstrong.
He has gone from after thought at 24 years old to perhaps one of the most important pieces to the Celtic puzzle this season.
Armstrong came in to this season having scored just five goals in two seasons (and 39 total matches played) in the Hoops. Since Rodgers’ arrival at Parkhead, Armstrong has put eight goals in to the back of the net and made a few players surplus to needs.
Rodgers’ right-hand man, Chris Davies, has taken a keen interest in his rise and noted just how important he as become to the club. In fact, he apparently can’t wait to lock him down to a new long-term deal with just 18 months remaining on his current contract.
"“That’s something that would be really positive for the club,” Davies said, via The Scotsman. “Stu has done fantastically well over the last few months. He has really really developed in the way we would like.“We were obviously aware of him when we came in and spoke about him and have been really impressed with his development and personality.“The manager has made it clear to the player that he values him and how well he has done and the player is enjoying it, and everybody is happy, so that’s all positive on that front.”"
It also has meant other clubs taking an interest in his career too. Again, with a contract situation unresolved other clubs are likely to come sniffing around.
Former Celtic great Stiliyan Petrov rates the 24-year-old rather highly, noting his unique ability to play deep in the midfield and still score goals as well.
“You can hardly find a more dynamic midfielder who starts deep and scores goals and create chances,” Petrov said to the Scotsman. “Stuart has definitely matured a lot.”
He rates him so much that he believes Armstrong could be a £20 million player if he continues to develop at the rate he has been this season.
"“When he came he was trying to do everything, he was trying to do a lot of stuff that wasn’t his game. But now you can see he learns, he moves the ball quicker, he times his runs, he starts scoring goals, and if he keeps on the same way, they will have a very good midfielder that can be another £20-plus million player if he develops the way he has been developing so far.”"
Armstrong’s development has allowed Celtic to look to offload Nir Bitton, who was a stalwart over the last few seasons next to Scott Brown. Instead, Bitton has become a bench replacement at best thanks to Armstrong’s increased production and Bitton’s slip in form.
Few players have taken to Rodgers’ training the way Armstrong did, and it has resulted in moments like this piece of brilliance from just a few matches ago:
If there is a blueprint to success at Celtic under Brendan Rodgers, it is Armstrong’s rise from fringe player to key contributor in the midfield.
Many questioned how Celtic would re-build its struggling midfield core, that answer clearly has come in the form of Stuart Armstrong and Celtic have to feel lucky to find an answer like that right in their own squad.