Celtic needed to bring in a physical defensive midfielder this summer. Nir Bitton had left the club at the end of last season, bringing an end to a nearly decade-long run at Parkhead. Aaron Mooy had been brought in but he did not really have the attributes to fit the role. Thus, the signing of Oliver Abildgaard, on loan from Rubin Kazan, was welcomed with open arms.
We are yet to see Abildgaard play even a single minute of football for Celtic though, as his fitness does not seem to be quite up there.
As a result, Celtic seem to be missing that physical figure in the middle of the park, who can provide some steel to the team. For example, he could have come in handy in the game against St Mirren, when the duo of Moritz Jenz and Stephen Welsh appeared to struggle with the physical battle, while Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt are out injured.
Somebody like Abildgaard could come in and solve that issue to a large extent, by providing extra protection to the defence by sitting in front of them. And now, there seems to be a positive update on the Danish midfielder.
Celtic boss delivers brilliant Abildgaard news
It looks like Abildgaard is on the verge of making his debut for Celtic. As reported by The Herald (via 67 Hail Hail), Ange Postecoglou said about the situation:
"“With him it’s obviously about introducing him to the team, and I think it would be unfair if we put him into a position that is not his primary position as his introduction to the team.“But he has trained well the last couple of weeks, he’s got his fitness levels up, and he should see some game time in the next couple of games. As he gets stronger within himself and feels better then he will definitely be an option.”"
Thus, it looks like Abildgaard will be getting some game time over the next couple of games, even though it might still be a bit too early to give him starts.
Even then, this is very positive news and we can only hope that the Danish star settles into the Scottish game quickly and starts making a big impact at Parkhead. He is certainly a very different option to the ones Celtic already have.