After the weekend's football, there has been a lot of looking back. The games themselves threw up a lot of dramatic moments. Celtic secured a win with that late VAR-reviewed penalty against Kilmarnock. Rangers fans rued many decisions from their game, none the least of which was the appointment of Russell Martin as manager.
Celtic weren't exactly back to sparkling form, but there were promising signs. That Kelechi Iheanacho penalty and a few glimpses beforehand suggested the forward could lead the line well. Hopefully, we’ll see more of him against Partick Thistle on Sunday.
Sebastian Tounekti had an excellent debut. The winger took on players with many twists and turns. He looked very much the part as a Celtic winger. Let’s hope that early form continues.
On the other wing, Michel-Ange Balikwisha has yet to impress. But it’s early days and he played wide right on Sunday rather than his favoured left, but the jury remains out for now.
Celtic look to the future and move on from what if’s
Of course, there are many ‘What If’ thoughts arising after the weekend, and the transfer window that went before it. Especially in a week where the Champions League fixtures get underway. Undoubtedly, a new centre forward would have helped in the playoff ties. Tounekti’s debut strongly suggests he’d have helped create a few more chances in those games, too.
Celtic missed out on signing Kasper Dolberg right at the close of the window. The player decided to turn down a move to Parkhead and make a return to Ajax instead. That’s a decision that could leave the Danish international thinking what if as well.
He’s been criticised in Holland for the move. Ex-Dutch international Youri Mulder has spoken with Ziggo Sport (via Daily Record) about Dolberg's return to Ajax, and he sees it as a mistake. He said:
"Dolberg is coming back now, but I think that's a bit of a sign of weakness. Bringing a player back. That's what they did with Traore. It was a mistake to bring him back."
Mulder is not the first one to question the transfer either. Ajax legend Danny Blind had already spoken out and suggested it could turn out to be a bad move for Dolberg. He reckoned the player is behind Wout Weghorst for selection and will have to compete for opportunities. Time will tell for him. As for Celtic, it’s time to look forward and see what our new recruits can bring over the coming games.