Chris Sutton thinks one Celtic man has been ‘vital’ for Brendan

The Irishman has made no secret of his desire to regulate squad numbers, which will likely see a continuation of fringe players leaving the building once the 2023/24 campaign concludes. In January, David Turnbull and Yosuke Ideguchi were shifted permanently after being deemed surplus to requirements; meanwhile, several peripheral figures have found solace in loan moves elsewhere. On the same token, big hitters such as Matt O’Riley attracted significant interest last month, and it remains to be seen whether Celtic will be able to retain the Denmark international heading into 2024/25. Of course, supporters have all been made aware that veteran goalkeeper Joe Hart will retire from football at the end of the season.

Taking this into account, Rodgers and his recruitment team have a challenge on their hands to ensure his successor can replicate the former England international’s qualities at Parkhead. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Hoops’ trip to Motherwell, the Irishman confirmed that the Hoops may be in the market for more than one goalkeeper to replace Hart amid uncertainty over the futures of Scott Bain and Benjamin Siegrist [Sky Sports]. Former Celtic man Chris Sutton believes Hart is set to be a ‘vital’ player for Celtic over the course of the season run-in amid his excellent recent performances. The 50-year-old also implied that the ex-England international has been a smart acquisition for the Bhoys, making ‘doubters’ eat their words across his spell north of the border. Celtic FC v Heart of Midlothian – Cinch Scottish Premiership Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sutton wrote [Daily Record]: “Joe Hart’s announcement of retirement should finally make any lasting doubters realise what a good signing he has been.

“He’s made mistakes and isn’t perfect, but he’s been huge in recent weeks and is nowhere near as bad as some critics were making out last season or the start of this. Hart is going to be vital for the run-in because, again, Celtic didn’t buy a proper back-up for him in the last window.” Hart arrived at Celtic in 2021 to a varied reaction among supporters in the wake of unfruitful spells at Torino, West Ham United, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur. Nevertheless, the Shrewsbury-born man has the fairytale ending that his career deserved, building an immovable connection with the Parkhead faithful due to his passion and commitment to the club. At the time of writing, Hart has made 138 appearances across all competitions at the Scottish Premiership champions, keeping 59 clean sheets in total [Transfermarkt]. Hopefully, his final few months in green and white can yield a domestic double as the Bhoys look to make this campaign successful under Rodgers.

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