3 Celtic stars who could struggle for playing time now

David Turnbull

Turnbull was probably Celtic’s most active player this season before he suffered an injury in the Scottish League Cup final against Hibernian and he has been out of action since then.

On the other hand, Celtic have added a few midfielders to their ranks in the January transfer window. One who has shined particularly is Reo Hatate.

The Japanese star was exceptional against the Rangers, proving to be the difference maker, scoring twice and assisting once in the Glasgow Derby. And as a result, it is hard to see him being left out of the Hoops’ line up anytime soon if he continues to perform like he has in his first couple of weeks. On the other hand, one doubt that has always followed Turnbull is the fact that he has never looked at his best in big games.

As a result, Turnbull might have a very difficult time breaking into the starting XI once again even when he is back to full fitness.

Tom Rogic

A few weeks back, the thought of even dropping Rogic was hard to imagine but now, it looks like it could potentially be a real possibility.

Rogic has been nothing short of brilliant this season but at the same time, he has had his off games as well.

On the other hand, Matt O’Riley, who was signed from MK Dons in the January transfer window, has been nothing short of brilliant ever since arriving at Celtic and has barely put a foot wrong till now to be honest.

And that is even though it looks like he is still adjusting to the Hoops’ style of play and intensity, and has appeared to get tired in the second half of games.

Thus, it does feel like there could be some genuine competition for the starting spot between the two moving forward.