Brendan Rodgers has enjoyed another successful season in charge of Celtic, and it could get even better if his side wins the SFA Cup final later this month.
The Hoops travel to Hampden Park to take on Aberdeen at the national stadium with the chance to secure a domestic treble, having already won the Scottish Premiership and the League Cup.
Rodgers led the team to the SFA Cup trophy and the Premiership title in his first season back at Parkhead in the 2023/24 campaign, as he came in to replace Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2023.
It has been an incredibly successful return to the club for the Northern Irish head coach, whose team won the title with a 5-0 win over Dundee United at the end of last month, and he has had to make some ruthless decisions along the way.
Rodgers is not afraid to make bold or unpopular decisions if he thinks it is the best for the team, and one example of that has been his use of central defender Maik Nawrocki this season.
Why Maik Nawrocki has not been playing for Celtic
The Polish centre-back did not make a single appearance in the Champions League campaign and has only played two matches in the Premiership to date.
He was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw with Rangers at Ibrox last time out, which is the 28th time that has happened to the defender in the current term. This shows that he has rarely been used by Rodgers despite being available for the entire season.
Nawrocki could not do much more to earn more minutes in the first-team, though, because he took his chances when they came his way against Rangers and Hearts last month.
Due to injuries to Liam Scales, Dane Murray, and Auston Trusty, the former Legia Warsaw star was named in the starting XI for the first time in the campaign against the Gers, and did enough to keep his place against Hearts in the following Premiership match.
Minutes
90
90
Clearances
7
9
Blocks
0
3
Tackles + interceptions
5
1
Duels won
7/10
8/9
Dribbled past
0x
0x
Pass accuracy
93%
98%
Error led to shot/goal
0
0
As you can see in the table above, Nawrocki put in two outstanding performances at centre-back, as he was incredibly reliable on the ball and dominant defensively, with plenty of defensive actions and impressive duel success rates.
However, the 24-year-old colossus has not played a minute of football in any competition since the full-time whilst went in the 3-0 win over Hearts, and Rodgers has explained why that has been the case.
The Celtic boss explained: “I do always prefer where I can a left-footed centre-half on that side, in all honesty because that allows you to get through the pitch quicker and have more speed playing forward.”
Nawrocki is, of course, right-footed and this has led to Scales and Trusty starting every game since that win over Hearts, as one or both of them have been fit and available since then.
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It now remains to be seen what will happen to the Polish defender in the upcoming summer transfer window, because it seems unlikely that he will be happy with just two league appearances all season.
Whilst Nawrocki is one player who could push to move on from Parkhead of his own volition, there is a player who has played even fewer minutes than the defender who should be moved on by the club – Scott Bain.
Why Celtic should move on from Scott Bain
The 33-year-old goalkeeper has been on the bench in recent weeks, with Viljami Sinisalo deputising for Kasper Schmeichel, but has not played a single minute in any competition this season.
Bain reportedly earns £7.6k-per-week at Parkhead, which is more than Hyun-jun Yang (£6k), Liam Scales (£5k), and Sinisalo (£2.5k), yet has played fewer minutes than Nawrocki in all competitions, as he has not played any at all, domestically or in Europe.
Herald Scotland recently reported that Aberdeen shot-stopper Ross Doohan, who is out of contract this summer, is being considered as a target for the Hoops, as Bain is entering the final 12 months of his deal and could look to move elsewhere.
The 27-year-old ace is reportedly on a weekly wage of £2.7k, which is less than the current Celtic third-choice currently earns, and that means that this switch in goalkeepers could save the Hoops thousands per week, potentially freeing up wages to be used in other areas of the squad.
Doohan could arrive as a cheaper third-choice option for the Scottish giants than Bain, who is earning more than several first-team stars who play regulars, as aforementioned, whilst he has not made an appearance for the club since last season.
The 33-year-old flop played three times in the 2023/24 campaign and pundit Frank McAvennie criticised the goalkeeper, telling Football Insider that having him as an option is “not good enough” for the Hoops.
24/25
0
0
23/24
3
1
22/23
1
4
21/22
2
2
20/21
18
18
19/20
2
2
As you can see in the table above, Bain has only played five league games since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, conceding seven goals in those five matches, and has not played at all this term.
This does not suggest that he has done enough for the club to justify keeping him at Parkhead on more wages than the likes of Yang, Sinisalo, and Scales, who contribute to the team on the pitch, which is why they should ruthlessly ditch him from the squad this summer.
Selling Bain, if there is enough interest in his services from elsewhere, and replacing him with Doohan, who has played 15 league games this season and earns less money per week, could be a shrewd move by the club.
It is now down to Rodgers to be ruthless once again by brutally ditching the veteran goalkeeper from the squad in the upcoming summer transfer window, whilst landing the Aberdeen stopper on a free transfer.
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