Celtic hero makes Carl Starfelt claim after new signing

Celtic were handed a major boost in their final pre-season game before the start of the Premiership campaign this weekend against Ross County. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt and Maik Nawrocki all got minutes against Athletic Bilbao in James Forrest’s Testimonial match at Parkhead.

That is a positive for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who have struggled with injury problems lately. But it looks like all three defenders are fit enough to feature at the moment. It remains to be seen if they end up starting against Ross County at the weekend on Flag Day.

The centre-back situation at Celtic is interesting at the moment. Carter-Vickers is almost a guaranteed starter. But Starfelt might have to vie for his place in the team, if Nawrocki impresses, having arrived this summer from Legia Warsaw.

As reported by Football Insider, Frank McAvennie said about the situation:

"“I think Starfelt is going to find it hard this season.“Starfelt has not let anybody down but if Nawrocki is as good as he looks he will fit in seamlessly. Starfelt will still want to be the number one and if that happens then everyone will have to fight for their place.“I just felt like he got caught out a lot, especially in Europe. Brendan wants to defend and he wants to do well in Europe.“I think we have got enough going forward, middle to front we have got more than enough to score goals. If we can keep them out and Brendan can sort that defence out then we have a chance to have a run in Europe.“"

Celtic hero makes Starfelt claim after new signing

Starfelt has been a starter for Celtic over the past two seasons and often, it feels like he does not get enough credit from the fans. With the arrival of Nawrocki, there are once against question marks about the Swede’s place as a starter.

This is not the first time that has happened though. And in the past, Starfelt has successfully passed with flying colours, every time he has had a test put in front of him. It remains to be seen how things will play out this time around.

Competition for places is great for Celtic though. In an ideal world, every player in the squad would be pushing for a starting spot.

Nawrocki is very highly-rated as well. The Polish youth international has arrived with a lot of expectations surrounding him. And hopefully, he will establish himself as an important player at Parkhead as well over the coming weeks and months.