One of the big questions that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers had to answer over the summer was who to pick as former England No 1, Joe Hart’s, replacement following his decision to announce his retirement from the professional game ahead of the 2023/24 campaign coming to a close.
According to the media, our Parkhead management looked at a variety of options, a variety of ages and experience, and as we know we ultimately settled on former Leicester City stopper and Premier League winner Kasper Schmeichel. 23 year old Viljami Sinisalo was drafted in to battle Scott Bain for the Number 2 spot.
The 38 year old, 109 capped Denmark international, more than ticked the experience and ‘old head’ box and his move to Celtic Park has been a great success so far, but the odds of that happening were high on the cards and it would have been great use of a Bet365 joining offer for those who had one. 18 games into his Celtic career he has more than played his part in helping us to two wins and a draw in our Champions League campaign (although we will not talk about the Borussia Dortmund game!) and we are only two points off the automatic qualification spots and our likely financial return given our form is very promising indeed.
Europe is only one part of the season though, our domestic Scottish Premiership campaign could hardly have gone better. Ten wins and a draw from the opening eleven leaves us in top spot, tied on points with unexpectedly impressive Aberdeen, but our goal difference is far superior to theirs.
With Schmeichel being an integral part of that success with his eleven clean sheets so far, with the November international break upon on, attentions have slightly turned to his future given the player signed a 12 month deal over the summer, with an option to extend that by another season.
Speaking recently to Danish outlet Tipsbladet, Schmeichel insisted that he was loving life at the club, but that there had been no discussions so far on what would happen at the end of the season. That is not a great surprise really, we are only in November and both parties agreeing to use the option, well, it is just not a chat that is really needed until the end of the campaign as everyone has far more important things to focus on right now.
Asked about his adjustment at the club, he explained that he felt Rodgers preferred style of play for the first team group suited him down to the ground and in many ways more than complemented his strengths, so it had made the whole process even easier for him when it came to settling in and hitting the ground running in the way he has done. Naturally, he was pleased with is own form and performances, and he was delighted to see the team doing as well as it is so far.
He was also taking particular delight from our performances in Europe, but he also referenced the fact that it was a credit to the team that we had clearly established our consistency levels, and that we had not let them slip in some of the less high profile games that we are tasked with. With that said though, he was also quick to point out that it had only been a start and that there was obviously plenty of football left to play in the year, so nobody could get carried away or complacent with the challenges that lie ahead.
For now, fans will be watching to see how our unbeaten run goes, and Schmeichel will continue to remain focused on his own form.
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