What should Celtic do about Shane Duffy’s future?

There comes a time when it’s obvious things are not working out at a club and action needs to be taken. While the manager is hanging on, should Celtic take swifter action to curtail Shane Duffy’s loan nightmare?

There was plenty of excitement over the summer months speculating about whether Duffy would actually leave the Premier League, with what are usually superior wages deals, in order to fulfil his dream of playing for Celtic.

There was also plenty of excitement when the rumours refused to go away and there were glimmers of hope that Duffy might actually sign. And that excitement increased as the possibility grew stronger and stronger.

What could go wrong? A Premier League defender, no nonsense taken, goals from corners and would put himself in front of anything to stop a goal. And he’s playing for the Republic of Ireland too!

Well, it didn’t take too many games after joining before fans were concerned about Duffy. He did score in his first two games and that aspect looked promising. But then his lack of pace, poor on the ball skills, lack of passing ability and defensive awareness all came into regular question.

Many fans concluded that their solution to saving Celtic’s season included dropping Duffy. After so much criticism and being dropped to the bench recently, there doesn’t seem to be a way back for him.

Others though would be happy enough to give him a little more time to settle in. There are stories that Celtic are about to exercise a clause in the loan agreement to end the loan period in January, as reported by Video Celts. Is that the right thing to do?

More from Celtic FC News

• Celtic handed fresh injury doubt before Feyenoord game
• Celtic’s £40.7 million announcement should scare Rangers
• Brendan Rodgers makes superb claim about returning Celtic player
• BBC pundit makes sensational claim about Celtic hero Kyogo
• Kyogo Furuhashi sends clear message to Celtic doubters

It’s still quite early and many players have suffered slow starts. Henrik Larsson’s error in his first game giving away a goal was a good example of turning things round. But it feels like what we see is what we get and as evidenced on the pitch, Duffy sure doesn’t turn quickly.

It’s slightly ironic that the Celtic management team may have made a swift decision in this situation, concluding that the player may not have a future at the club and an exit is the only way forward. But it could also be a good positive point on decisive action being taken.

It’d be quite harsh, a public slight and not too much like the Celtic family way. Unfortunately, football isn’t a place for sentimentality when it comes to picking the side.

Celtic should be able to quickly build confidence again, based around the likes of Ajer and Jullien in the centre of defence, although their performance last night was not a promising one. But even then it’s hard to see a way back for Duffy and this may well be the correct move if true.