The departure of Victor Wanyama will undoubtedly be a big blow for Celtic but his replacement may already be at the club.
Three years after joining from Maccabi Haifa Beram Kayal has still to fully prove himself in a Celtic jersey but supporters have seen enough to believe that the Israeli internationalist can fill the gap created by Wanyama’s move.
Kayal has put in some impressive stints in a Celtic jersey but injury and the emergence of Wanyama have hampered his progress.
In the first weeks of Neil Lennon’s reign it looked life Efrain Juarez would be an obstacle to Kayal’s progress but by the end of the 2010/11 season the Israeli had cemented his place in the side with Juarez heading out the door.
Whenever Lennon sits down to review his Celtic days the 2-0 win at Ibrox in December 2010 will surely go down as a watershed moment.
Leading upto the match the debut of Freddi Ljungberg seemed to provide Celtic with their only hope of achieving a result but a recast side featuring Thomas Rogne and Daniel Majstorovic in defence with a midfield including Kayal, Paddy McCourt and Charlie Mulgrew fashioned an unlikely win thanks to two goals from Georgios Samaras.
Kayal was in his pomp bossing the Rangers midfield making 40-60 challenges his own as Lee McCulloch and Steve Davis chased shadows.
The promise of that performance has never been repeated on a consistent basis with injuries partly to blame.
Centre midfield has been the most competitive area of the Celtic side over the last two seasons with Kayal making just 19 starting appearances last season in the SPL.
After a proper summer break, while many of his team-mates have been away on international duty, Kayal has been in pre-season training since day one in preparation for the new campaign.
The feedback has been impressive with hopes high among the coaching staff that the 25-year-old is about to deliver on the potential that he’s hinted at since an impressive home debut against Utrecht.
While a £10m plus fee for Wanyama is very welcome there isn’t the same urgency to use the money as there was when Aiden McGeady was sold to Spartak Moscow.
That deal largely funded the current Celtic squad and last season’s Champions League campaign.
Kayal looked on from the substitute’s bench last season as Wanyama made his name known in the Champions League- the next few weeks could see the popular midfielder re-establish his place at the centre of Celtic’s plans- domestically and in Europe.
IS IT KAYAL TIME? add your comments below
Good piece mate would love to see him back to that form .
No need to spend for the sake of it.
absolutely , kayal was pushed out of his natural position when wanyama came into the squad . and i think he can be the defensive midfielder we all know he is capable of being .
HH
I totally agree, I have always rated Kayal very highly and think he has been unfortunate not to get more starts.
Always thought Kayal was better than Wanyama, more energy, more bite
Would love that to be the case but Kayal is a bit of a headless chicken in my opinion. Great first season but his rash challenge ruled him out of the Cup Final when big Victor was missing and he does not offer the same goal threat or passing ability as Wanyama. Would love to be proved wrong but I suspect we need to buy a replacement. I think Ambrose is more suited to a midfield role as he is a ball player but gets caught out at the back too often.
I always liked Kayal…sometimes a bit too much in tackles gets him into trouble but i like his aggression, he deserves to play more and should be victors step in. Your right Pablo, no need to spend
I think it would be stupid not to reinvest the money we make from Wanyama’s sale. Kayal has been solid when he has been fit; the issue is that he cannot maintain his fitness levels throughout the season. Furthermore, he is not as good as Wanyama and given his injury record, a replacement is a must.
Given that we have reduced our debt to a comparable level with some fans in Celtic park, I would expect all money from Wanyama’s sale to be reinvested in the team- we have many areas which could be improved upon and we must guarantee our place in the Champions League.
like I said before, its kayals season! HH!
Efe ambrose played his first game for celtic in midfield and did a great job , I thought he was better as a midfielder than defender , between the two of them and young Twardzik we are well covered there , Big Charlie and Broonie can also play there.
Big Vic better going forward tho surely?
All you guys have more faith than me….
I’ve really wanted him to do well…but he’s never quite achieved it IMO.
Can never fault his work-rate and enthusiasm…but there’s something not quite there.
Hope he proves me wrong….
Anyway…There’s always Broony remember….He’s no bad at “gettin’ tore in”….
Good Piece. Agree with it also, hope Lennon gives him the game time. I think Beram suffered from a lack of confidence after his injury, he wasn’t helped at times by the panic merchants inside Celtic Park, we’re too quick to get on players backs sometimes. Hope we see more of him in the new season. HH
think your right.beram seems to need an arm round him.deffo a confidence player seemed to suffer when the support began to sing big vics praises
It will be good to see him emerge from Victors significant shaddow.
For me, kayal just isn’t the player he promised to be, time to get the chequebook out because I fear that in this years CL Beram kayal will be found out. He keeps getting dragged out of position and his ball retention falls short of which is required. I’m sorry but IMO we need a replacement for vic and kayal just ain’t it. HH
In his first season, Kayal looked like the best midfielder we’ve had in years. If Vic goes and Beram gets a run in the team, he’ll do us proud.
Nope – Bhig Victor for me. His debut was outstanding in the holding role. I prefer him here to CB and I think he’ll be Lennon’s first choice now we have signed Virgil to partner Wilson.
I like Kayal but must say I was very disappointed last season with him most f the time – a liability and a certain yellow card everytime he walked on a football pitch – I hope he can regain the kind of form that he started with but I would give Ambrose the nod at first!
HH
No chance, had a good 1st season along with izzy but the two of them sufferred massive ego swelling when they seen the clubs they were being “linked” with and neither has performed since.
Good post but can’t see Kayal ever reaching the heights again. Injury has played a part but I don’t think he has the make up to go up a level.
Another inhouse replacement may be young Jackson Irvine. Good reviews from his Aussie performances; great performances in NextGen. Celtic need to have faith in him and give him a run of games. HH
Think Kayal looked a class act at times and,as the article says,his development has been somewhat stunted by Wanyama.Great to hear about his training but Beram hasn’t ever lacked drive.McCulloughs assault has never been spoke of,nothing new there though HH
Kayal has all the talent required to show the class he had in his first season, A good preseason and he will be ready, along with a fit broony Celtic will be okay in this dept.