Rogers mingled with Celtic stars

Celtics manager Brendan Rodgers has had a huge success throughout his time with the Scottish Giants, his second spell with the club.

The Northern Ireland boss won seven trophys at Parkhead between 2016 and 2019, joining Premier League side Leicester City in his first match against basketball.

Rodgers won two trophies in the first year of the Celtic last semester, winning the Scottish Premier League title and the SFA Cup, and is currently listing domestic trebles.

The basketball team beat the Wanderers by free throws to win the League Cup in the first half of the season, with one game away from winning the league title and against Aberdeen in the SFA Cup final.

That means the former Leicester and Liverpool head coach could have won 12 trophys in the Celtics’ career at the end of the season.

The Northern Irish tactician has obviously achieved great success for the Scottish Giants, but that doesn’t mean he’s been perfect for this time. In fact, he has had some question marks on his centre-back pick lately, and Liam’s scales get a nod over the weekend.

Celtics’ central defender debate

The basketball team started the 2024/25 campaign as Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Welsh, as two top choices for the right centre-back role, Austre’s Trusty and Liam scales are the two first-time selection options on the left.

Rodgers recently revealed that he prefers to play a left-footed player on the left side of the defense because it “allows you to get on the court faster”, but he has had problems with that position this season.

Both Scales and Trusty sometimes quit the team, neither of which could clearly say they were the first choice, and Thay might be because they made mistakes in the Premier League.

As you can see in the table above, they both started similar games and combined five errors that resulted in the shooting, one that resulted in the goal, and one fine. The trustworthy guys were also dribbled twice as much as the Irish, as the opposition striker found him easier.

These statistics show that two naturally left-footed defenders are not particularly reliable in the back because they made mistakes in the Premier League.

Scales beat St. Johnstone 5-0 in the SFA Cup and Kilmarnock 5-1 in the Premier League, indicating that he currently remains distrustful in pecking orders.

Although the size (£3 million) is worth a lot less than Transfy Markt, he joined the club from Sheffield United last summer.

But if the Irish defender is worth more, however, if he has more game time on the court, as he only has 17 starts in the Premier League, it means the centre-back doesn’t start showing as much quality as Trusty does.

But the scales aren’t the only central defender that falls into that category. Rodgers also mingled with Polish Maik Nawrocki, whose value plunged during the Celtic period.

Why Maik Nawrocki’s Value in Celtics

The basket has decided to pay Legia Warsaw Squad a £4.3m fee to strengthen their options in the market for the replacement of Carl Starfelt in summer 2023.

It was the most expensive signing of the summer for the Celtics, and it was a big spending, which shows that they wanted him to play a key role on the court.

This is not what happened, though, as Navoroki continued to start the Premier League matches during the 2023/24 campaign, starting seven outings.

He won 57% of the duel and did not make a single turnover, which won a shot, goal or penalty in these ten games, but that wasn’t enough to get him a normal position in the team.

Carter-Vickers nailed the right centre-back role, which put Nawrocki in a fight for a place on the left, which put him at an immediate disadvantage with his right foot.

He didn’t make an appearance in the league until March of this season, when trustworthy damage gave him a chance to shine against the Rangers and the heart.

As you can see in the table below, Navoroki took this opportunity to impress in both matches, which was to occupy opposition attackers in duels and possess reliable possession.

The £120,000 per week star performances are not enough to keep his place as he has been an unused backup in the last two Premier League games and has not played against St. Johnstone in the SFA Cup.

As he lacks minutes on the court for the past two seasons, Navolock’s Transfermarkt Value dropped millions to just £1.7 million, making him worth even less than the Scales and Trusty.

This shows that Rodgers are with the defender, as Nawrocki has a price of up to £4.3 million, and despite its outstanding performance, it is rarely used by the manager, and because the club’s current assets are now depreciating.

Now, seeing what the Celtics do to Navoroki in the summer because Rogers is reluctant to use his expenses, he is not worth much as they pay him, and because of his lack of minutes, he seems unlikely to be a key player.