Brendan Rodgers confirms key Celtic player could leave

Celtic were nowhere near perfect on Flag Day. But they were good enough to get a 4-2 win over Ross County and kick off the new league season with a win. David Turnbull got an unexpected start on the day and justified his place in the team with a brace. Kyogo and Matt O’Riley opened their tallies for the campaign as well.

A lot was made of the players who were left out of the starting XI on the day though. One was Reo Hatate, arguably Celtic’s best player last season. The other was Carl Starfelt, who has been a mainstay in the heart of defence over the past two seasons alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers.

But unfortunately, it looks like the Starfelt and Carter-Vickers’ partnership could be set to come to an end soon. There have been rumours surrounding the Swedish defender’s future for a while and now, Rodgers has pretty much confirmed that he could be on his way out soon.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rodgers told Sky Sports:

"“Carl could leave, hence the reason for not starting. It maybe something that goes through next week but we will see.”"

Rodgers confirms key Celtic player could leave

Starfelt leaving would not be ideal at all. He is the most experienced centre-back the club have at this point in time.

The Hoops have brought in Maik Nawrocki recently, and he is a great prospect. But at the end of the day, he is 22 years of age and playing his first season of football in Scotland. He will need some time to adjust.

Thus, Nawrocki being placed as a starter from the very beginning may not be ideal. They also have Yuki Kobayashi, but he has failed to impress since arriving earlier this year. And there are question marks over the future of Stephen Welsh as well. Could Liam Scales turn out to be a wildcard amidst all this? He did start regularly for Aberdeen last season and also impressed in pre-season for the Hoops this time around.