It’s crazy to think of the number of left-backs Celtic have deployed since the start of the last season.
Greg Taylor, Alexandro Bernabei, Alex Valle, Jeffrey Schlupp, and now Kieran Tierney and Marcelo Saracchi have played that role for Celtic, or been on the books during that period.
Back in January, with Celtic oddly cutting short Valle’s loan and talk of Tierney making a return, they decided to bring in Schlupp from Crystal Palace.
It wasn’t so long ago that the 32-year-old was starting a Champions League game for Celtic in Munich, but now he is facing troubled waters with Norwich City in England’s second tier.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesJeffrey Schlupp’s nose-dive from Celtic in the Champions League to a relegation battle
Celtic love a cheap and easy deal, just ask the board, and they had the chance to bring back Schlupp for nothing in the summer when his Palace contract expired.
But clearly, he didn’t have the desired impact for the now-departed Brendan Rodgers to push that button, as he finds himself in the midst of a relegation battle with Norwich.
The Canaries are only above administration-hit Sheffield Wednesday in the table, who were slapped with a 12-point deduction this season, and they recently sacked their manager, Liam Manning.
That’s why Celtic’s Mark Fotheringham has been linked with a move to Norwich, as Schlupp is now out of action with a serious hamstring issue.
Schlupp’s start at Norwich in numbers
Whilst Celtic didn’t make use of it, Schlupp can and has, throughout his career, played everywhere across the pitch.
The 20-cap Ghana star has mainly played on the left flank for Norwich, starting five games in all competitions, including four in the Championship.
Despite the lack of regular minutes and Norwich’s struggles, Schlupp has actually been one of his side’s better performers, as they aim to drag themselves from the bottom three.
Schlupp’s league games: 9Started: 4Minutes per game: 47Total minutes: 421Goals: 0Assists: 1Touches per game: 39 Balls recovered per game: 1.9Clearances per game: 2.3Total duels won: 3.2 (49%)Ground duels won: 2.1 (50%)Aerial duels won: 1.1 (48%)Possession lost: 8.8Yellow cards: 2Average Sofascore rating: 6.73