Celtic have already completed the signing of one centre-back in recent times in the form of Yuki Kobayashi. He was a starter back at Vissel Kobe and it will be interesting to see if he can show his best on Scottish soil. On the other hand, Alistair Johnston is also capable of playing as a centre-back in a three-man backline. This does raise questions about the future of Moritz Jenz though.
The German defender was brought in on loan from French Ligue 1 club, Lorient, till the end of the season. And to be fair, he has gotten quite a few chances since his arrival.
A lot of that might be down to the fact that Carl Starfelt has had to deal with a lot of injuries though. And with the arrival of Kobayashi, one has to wonder whether the club have any plans to make Jenz’s loan deal permanent in the summer.
In the eyes of Frank McAvennie, they should do it. As reported by Football Insider, the former Celtic star said:
"“I think he has done well. He is a no nonsense defender. He just does what he says on the tin. He gets the ball and can give it to somebody that can play or gets it up the pitch.“He does not mess about and he is only going to get better. He has been in and out. It is whoever plays with [Cameron] Carter-Vickers at the moment.“I would think Ange has got to strengthen the squad. I would give him a contract. I think he tries to cut out the mistakes. I like defenders to defend, I know the manager does not but I do. So I would like him to stay.“"
Celtic told to complete permanent signing despite the recent arrival of Kobayashi
Jenz has had an interesting time since arriving at Celtic. He does have a lot of good qualities and when playing beside someone like Cameron Carter-Vickers, the German defender has looked pretty good.
At the same time, there have also been some shaky performances though, which have raised questions about whether the club should make a long-term investment to sign him permanently from Lorient or not.
A lot of that might depend on how Kobayashi performs in the second half of the season and what plans Celtic have for Welsh, who now seems to have slipped down to being the fifth choice centre-back at the club. Not an enviable position. Thus, he could do with a spell out on loan as well.