Celtic are hurtling towards their busy fixture stretch after the international break as Brendan Rodgers gets to work on consolidating his side’s excellent start to the season.
Making sharp inroad, the Bhoys are on a ten-match domestic winning run that has seen them yet to lose this season on Scottish shores.
This weekend, Celtic head into a box-office clash against Aberdeen with both sides locked level on points at the league summit, though the hosts hold an advantage on goal difference.
Kicking off the beginning of a pivotal stretch of games, Brendan Rodgers will need to rely on his squad throughout to maintain freshness and on-field intensity.
With that in mind, 67 Hail Hail take a look at three players who deserve more minutes at Celtic over the next few months.
Luke McCowan has impressed in Celtic cameo displays
Starting off with a fairly self-explanatory one, Luke McCowan is someone a lot of Celtic fans would like to see more of following his commendable start to life at the club.
Having already opened his account against Heart of Midlothian, the £1 million Bhoys signing is living the dream of many who pay to watch him on a weekly basis.
The weekend before last, Rodgers praised McCowan’s ‘outstanding’ contribution at Ross County as Celtic hauled themselves back from a goal deficit to turn the tide.
He stated: “Second half, the guys coming into the game, Paulo and Luke, they were outstanding. They were flexible on the ball, they showed good movement..”
While his wait for a first competitive Celtic start goes on, you get the impression it won’t be too long before McCowan is a feature in the Irishman’s line-up.
Hyunjun Yang’s limited Celtic minutes
Now, this one is more for when fixtures start to stretch the squad, but Hyunjun Yang could add another layer of ingenuity in attack should he be called upon by Rodgers.
The South Korea international has made just five appearances for the Bhoys this term across all competitions. Time-wise, that has only equated to 97 minutes on the field.
Last term, the former Gangwon FC man racked up 31 appearances, registering a solitary goal and three assists. Stat-trackers Fotmob show he created 21 chances and completed 30 successful dribbles in his debut campaign, so there is definetely talent to work with here.
However, he may need to wait for his chance in the side owing to the form of Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda on the flanks.
Alex Valle has made a case to retain his Celtic place
While Greg Taylor has been injured for Celtic, loanee Alex Valle has been given an opportunity to stake a claim for a starting slot in recent times.
Taking his chance, the Badalona-born man has started to make a real impression on the support, providing a sense of energy and smart ball retention on the left-hand side.
Bringing some of his La Masia charm to Scotland, Valle’s viral assist for Adam Idah against St Johnstone has been his crowning moment in green and white so far, with more expected to come as he continues his development at the Bhoys.
Undoubtedly, Taylor’s eventual return will come as a major boost, but his positional counterpart shouldn’t be cast aside due to his recent performances.
