Celtic maintained their position at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a relatively comfortable 2-0 win over Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday.
The Hoops secured the three points thanks to two early goals in the first-half. Nicolas Kuhn tapped the ball into an empty net from James Forrest’s cross to make it 1-0, before captain Callum McGregor rifled in an effort from distance for the second.
Brendan Rodgers is looking to win the top-flight title for the second year in succession, since his return to Parkhead last summer, but will also be preparing to focus on achieving more success in the Champions League.
With this in mind, the Northern Irishman must make some ruthless decisions between now and the end of the window, starting by ruthlessly ditching Liam Scales by replacing him as a player in the starting XI.
Liam Scales’ struggles against Hibernian
Despite it being a comfortable afternoon for the Bhoys, the Ireland international still had his fair share of awkward moments at the heart of the defence.
He misjudged multiple balls in behind him, which caused Cameron Carter-Vickers to sweep up on occasion, and was forced into a cynical foul in one of those situations, which resulted in a yellow card. Against higher-quality opposition, those moments of indecision and misjudgement could have been costly.
During Sky Sports’ live commentary of the game (11/08/2024), analyst Chris Sutton – a former Celtic striker – claimed that Kyogo Furuhashi was left “frustrated” by Scales’ indecision in possession throughout the game.
The Japan international was constantly looking to spin off the shoulder of the last defender of Hibs’ high line when the Irishman had the ball, but he consistently opted for the safer and shorter pass instead.
Rodgers could ruthlessly ditch Scales from the side ahead of their Champions League campaign by dipping into the transfer market this month.
Who could Celtic replace Scales with
Earlier this summer, it was reported that the Scottish giants are eyeing up a deal for Burnley central defender Dara O’Shea to bolster their options at the back.
Scales started all six of the club’s Champions League matches last term, as they finished bottom of their group, and ranked within the bottom 44% of his positional peers for progressive passes per 90 (3.00) and the bottom 24% for progressive carries per 90 (0.17).
Whereas, O’Shea ranked within the top 37% of Premier League centre-backs for progressive passes per 90 (3.80) and the top 29% for progressive carries per 90 (1.00).
These statistics suggest that O’Shea would be a more suitable choice for Celtic in higher-quality games where they will be looking to press forward and take control of matches, in the Champions League, as he is more progressive with his actions in possession – as a passer and carrier.
Therefore, Celtic could ditch Scales from the starting XI and replace him with an upgrade on the ball at the heart of the defence by securing a deal for the Burnley enforcer.
