Celtic supporters have been waiting for an absolute age to see some of their new signings in action for the first time.
The Hoops are yet to field Giorgos Giakoumakis and they may have to be a little more patient with the Greek striker after he sustained an injury in the warm-up on Thursday.
They are also yet to see the likes of Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide play for the senior side after arriving from Sheffield Wednesday.
Some fans haven’t been too impressed by their first glimpses of James McCarthy but one player who did become a talking point after their 3-0 win over Raith Rovers was Liam Scales.
On the chalkboard
The Irishman arrived with little fanfare in the final weeks of the window but he could become one of Ange Postecoglou’s most underrated acquisitions.
Capable of playing at full-back, wing-back and in the middle of defence, he is blessed with great versatility which should be an enormous help considering the sheer number of injury problems that Celtic have.
Carl Starfelt missed the defeat to Livingston with an illness while Greg Taylor’s absence of around 12 matches could open up a door for Scales to feature on the left.
However, there is a sense that the 6 foot 2 Irish defender’s qualities outweigh merely playing second fiddle. Instead, he could eventually prove to be Celtic’s long-term heir to Kristoffer Ajer at Parkhead.
The Norwegian departed Glasgow this summer as he joined newly-promoted Premier League side Brentford in a £17.5m move.
His departure had been a long time coming, and judging by the Bees’ defensive record this term, he has been a big miss for Postecoglou’s men.
Ajer has never been the best defender but he leads by example and stands up when it really matters. John Hartson said last season: “He’s grabbing the bull by the horns and he’s almost dragging the team through, even to these draws.”
What makes the Norway international so like Scales? Well, they’re both versatile defensively, good in possession and they have long levers which help them gallop forward from the backline.
Hartson added: “You see him [Ajer] making these lung-bursting runs forward, he’s marauding with that big stride, he’s challenging, on his backside, making blocks, in the opposition’s penalty area.”
If you compare those words to quotes collected about Scales, you can see why we’re making such a strong comparison.
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Collie O’Neill, his former manager at UCD, once remarked: “Liam likes to get forward. It’s not often you have guys on the wing who are tall and attacking, but when he gets going into his stride, he’s quick and strong. He can just whip past people.”
Fitting into a similar physical profile, it would be eye-catching if Scales did become like Celtic’s much-hailed Norwegian.
That said, he will be striving to make his own name in Glasgow in the coming years.
AND in other news, Celtic have just been rocked by another big blow, Hoops fans are surely gutted…
