It’s definitely a grand old team to play for, but if you aren’t getting game time at Celtic, it can be a big warning sign for the future for players. With the squad depth that the Hoops have right now, it should not come as a surprise that there are quite a few, who are not regular features. And we saw a few leave in January.
Early on in the season, life looked great for central defender, Moritz Jenz. He had just signed a loan deal to move from Lorient to Celtic and the Hoops had an option to sign him on a permanent deal at the end of the campaign.
With Carl Starfelt injured for the start of the season, Jenz got off to a flying start at Parkhead and played regularly in defence forming a good partnership alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers. He scored a couple of early season goals as well and played in the Champions League against the likes of Real Madrid.
He was definitely getting the chance to show what he could do on the pitch and doing a decent job at it as well. Although he seemed to have impressed Ange Postecoglou at the time, his chances soon became limited. Starfelt returned from injury and regained his place alongside Carter-Vickers again, with Jenz finding himself on the bench.
Former Celtic player explains why he left in January
It was always going to be difficult to reclaim a starting position again but the outlook took a further turn as Celtic signed Yuki Kobayashi. The Japanese defender seemed to be ahead of Jenz after arriving and the German centre-back saw the writing on the wall.
As reported by the Daily Record, Jenz said to Bild:
"“In the beginning things went great. I’ve always played and was a regular player in the Champions League. We were leaders in the league.“But there are moments when a coach chooses other players to play. Then it got difficult for me. Celtic had a purchase option for the coming summer, and from Lorient’s point of view it was becoming increasingly unrealistic that this would be drawn. It was also my clear wish to change clubs.”"
And so in January Jenz ended his loan at Celtic, returned to Lorient and quickly signed another temporary deal, this time with Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04, where he appears to have settled in nicely.