Forgotten Celtic star deserves more first-team chances

The forgotten Celtic star deserves more opportunities in the first-team after the club’s struggles at the back this season.

Celtic succumbed to familiar defensive frailties in their 2-2 draw against Hibernian at Easter Road. Unfortunately, Neil Lennon’s options at the back have been limited at times this campaign, due to injuries and the global pandemic.

One player, who has suffered from both over the course of his time at the club is Hatem Abd Elhamed. Having recently recovered from the virus, is it time the 29-year-old became a permanent fixture in the starting XI?

Capable of performing within the coaching staff’s preferred 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 formations, the Israel international offers a sense of versatility other defenders in the backline possibly do not have.

Despite the qualities Jeremie Frimpong and Diego Laxalt possess, they lack cohesive balance. Both have an instinctive tendency to bomb forward, consequently leaving spaces in behind for opposition sides to exploit. By bringing Elhamed into the side, there will be a stability within the back four.

This enables Laxalt to go beyond Mohamed Elyounoussi at will and produce opportunities on the overlap. On the other side, Elhamed is naturally more dispositioned to perform on the right of a four, with Jeremie Frimpong is arguably better suited towards a wing-back role in a 3-5-2 in order to threaten further up the field.

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Characteristically, Hatem Abd-Elhamed affords the Bhoys a dependability at the back that Neil Lennon urgently needs after conceding 17 goals in the previous 8 games. Able to dispossess the player he is marking, comfortable on the ball and retaining a steady turn of pace amongst other features, his experience could prove invaluable to the Hoops going forward in their crucial run of fixtures between now and the Christmas period.

Statistically, the former KAA Gent full-back is also competent with his final ball, with an encouraging 4 assists from 11 appearances this campaign. And their is no doubt that these numbers would increase with more game time over the coming weeks.

Lastly, he is also able to perform on the right hand-side of a back three as a central defender. This bodes well, as he can potentially feed the ball to Jeremie Frimpong, if the manager chooses to utilize the Dutchman on the right of the 3-5-2. Here’s hoping the Hoops manage to find a set back four, and pick up some clean sheets in their upcoming fixtures!