Chris Sutton is slightly puzzled by Chris Jullien’s situation at Celtic but expects the defender to move out of the club before the end of August.Â
The Frenchman flew over for discussions with Schalke about a move to the Bundesliga but for whatever reasons returned to Celtic to resume pre-season preparations.Â
Jullien started and scored in Celtic’s opening pre-season friendly against Wiener Viktoria but in the five matches that have followed Stephen Welsh has partnered Cameron Carter-Vickers in central defence.Â
Carl Starfelt will miss Sunday’s SPFL opener at home to Aberdeen but it is likely that Welsh and Moritz Jenz will be ahead of Jullien for a place in the side.Â
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Discussing Jullien’s situation from 8 minutes 50 seconds, Sutton said:Â
Christopher Jullien, for whatever reason and I’ve got to say that I think Christopher Jullien in a Celtic shirt has had some really big moments, he’s been a good player.Â
For whatever reason, Ange Postecoglou has seen him in training and he’s not for him. We know from the way that Celtic play, in many respects the centre-half has to be the best player because Ange Postecoglou’s style likes to overload in the midfield and forward areas and that leaves the centre half having to defend on their own at times.Â
Maybe Ange Postecoglou feels that Christopher Jullien isn’t capable enough to do that. It looks like the decision has been made on him. They can’t leave themselves short in that position.Â
A combination of circumstances have worked against Jullien, mainly through injury.Â
It was February of last season before he made his only top team appearance, in the meantime Carter-Vickers and Starfelt had formed a reliable partnership in central defence.Â
As a £7m signing in 2019 Jullien will be one of the highest earners at the club, with his contract expiring in May 2023 he is in the phase where he holds the cards with Postecoglou sticking with Carter-Vickers an Starfelt to provide stability away from contract and transfer speculation.Â
Slowly but surely, after the party in the shower at Hampden, came the hangover and the reality that the signings of Jullien, Barkas and Ajeti, costing a total of £17 million, had been a case of money thrown down the drain. Lennon and Lawwell both carried the can for those particular errors of judgement and lost their jobs as a result. Today, we still live with the errors of their oversight!
Nah, disagree with you lumping Jullien in with Ajeti and Barkas. Jullien made some real contributions and was only hampered by a serious injury.
We were unlucky with Jullien. Barkas and Ajeti are another story altogether.
Unlucky, nah! Jullien had a record of signing and not playing football for his employer club. At Toulouse, his previous club, he lived through what he described as a “Nightmare Time” in his career, where he could not get a game for his team.
I think he was injured more often than he was fit. He served out his time at Toulouse and found himself looking for another club. Whoever’s decision it was to sign him for Celtic obviously took a £7 million gamble on a player who was injured more than he was playing.
That gamble was lost because Julien contributed very little and got nothing for our money. Carter-Vickers and Starfelt on the other hand have already proven what you get when you sign them. Two defenders who put together a Title-winning Championship partnership and virtually never missed a game. I know who I’d rather have at my back at Celtic.