How much left in the tank for Craig Gordon?

There’s no doubt that Craig Gordon has been terrific for the Bhoys since joining from Sunderland.

At the age of 34, it’s nearly a miracle that Gordon can start in all competitions that Celtic feature in. Usually players start to hit a decline in sports around the age of 30, but Gordon has embraced 30 years and above pretty well with the Celts.

After coming over from the Premier League, Gordon featured for the Bhoys in between the pipes and went on to win Celtic’s three-straight championships. Of course, Celtic featured in some form of European League competition with the Scot in net.

Celtic are right on track to achieve more of the same with Gordon in net. The former Hearts player has tallied points in every fixture of the Scottish Premiership except for the loss against his former club. Gordon accounts for 7 clean sheets this campaign which is good for first in the league.

Even though Gordon has been a blessing to Celtic over the years, his form is starting to dip a bit. Gordon was in net for the streak-breaking loss against Hearts, and even looked shaky in his last five matches which includes a draw with Hibernian.

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The Hoops haven’t had the best luck in the Champions League either. Gordon has been on the wrong end of some bad beat downs from the likes of PSG and Barcelona over the past few years. The losses aren’t necessarily his fault, but there are keepers out there that can keep a scoreline from going over seven goals.

Celtic are going to have a tough stretch going down the line in all competitions. The Bhoys’ recent loss only progressed other squads positions in the standings. The biggest teams for Celtic to worry about at the moment are Rangers and Aberdeen. Celtic can certainly hold them off for the upcoming months, but the question will be if Gordon can uphold the opposition for that long?

Drawing Zenit in the Europa League shouldn’t come with celebration either. Gordon is going to have to hold up the status in the league while competing with a tough Zenit side, which isn’t simple for a 34-year-old.

Conor Hazard could be given a few shots in goal this season, but 19-years of age might be too early to give consistent starts to a goalie. Dorus de Vries makes the most sense if Celtic were in serious trouble in net, but he’s obviously not a long-term solution.

To keep Hazard steady in the development process, Celtic are going to have to look towards the January window to see if they can find a backup solution for Gordon.

One of the biggest names to come off the list is Liverpool’s Danny Ward who recently had a loan spell with Aberdeen. Ward is going to enter his prime at 24-years-old, so now might be the best time to pick him up. Aberdeen’s Joe Lewis has also been considered as another option.

In no way shape or form should this be considered a “panic move”. Gordon is just hitting some patches in form, and he’ll likely recover sooner rather than later. But, I would definitely like to see the Bhoys become more prepared for the future because Gordon won’t be around forever.

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Is it time to find a backup for Gordon? How many years does the Scot have left in him? Who would you like to see replace Gordon in the future? Let us know in the comments below.