Brendan Rodgers has hailed born again Dedryck Boyata as being like a new signing.
The former Manchester City defender played in only one match before the winter break but has started against Albion Rovers and St Johnstone since Celtic resumed their treble bid.
Anderlecht expressed an interest in taking Boyata back to his homeland but after grabbing his chance the 26-year-old won’t be leaving Celtic Park.
It looked like Rodgers had settled on the Erik Sviatchenko-Jozo Simunovic partnership going forward but after just two appearances Boyata has made the hoops boss think again about his best defensive pairing.
“It’s like having a new player, everyone has seen his qualities in the last two games he’s played,” Rodgers said to the Celtic website. “I’m blessed now, I’ve got good players fighting for positions and players can see it’s difficult. If they’re out of the team someone can come in.
“Dedryck’s a perfect example of someone who’s so committed to training even if he hasn’t been playing because he knows that if the chance comes, he wants to be ready to take it. I thought he was outstanding the other night.
“So for him, it’s about finding consistency. He will play on Sunday and it’s up to him now to stay in the team. He’s a good guy, he’s 26, he hasn’t had so many games in this first part of his career but he could go through the next 10 years now until he’s 36 and really go and show the top-quality player I think he can be.”
Boyata was a £1.5m signing from Manchester City in the summer of 2015 and was viewed as a direct replacement for Jason Denayer.
The departure of Virgil van Dijk to Southampton following the defeat to Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers left a big hole in the Celtic defence with Boyata struggling to handle the demands of his move.
