Former Celtic midfielder Kris Commons has said that he’s surprised at Brendan Rodgers stance over centre-back Dedryck Boyata.
Rodgers claimed that Boyata refused to play for Celtic, despite being, fit, but Commons has questioned this version of events
Talking to the BBC, Commons said, “If Dedryck says he’s not fit, he’s not fit. He’s not that sort of character.
“Rodgers is probably saying ‘we need you, even if you’re 80% fit, we need you’.
“It’s a strange one, because they’ve turned down really good money for him. He wasn’t first choice, but he’s gone away and had a good World Cup. His stock has gone up, he’s in the driving seat.”
OPINION
You won’t find many people willing to back Boyata in this dispute. If he isn’t fully fit, he still should have travelled and been willing to put his body on the line for such an important match. The timing of the comments from his agent make it sound very much like he’s downing tools, and it’s likely that Boyata will attempt to row back from these. It won’t make you popular with your current club or fans, but it won’t endear yourself to clubs that might have been willing to buy you either. With Celtic crashing out of the Champions League, the fallout for Boyata is likely to be even higher with Rodgers throwing blame his way, and Celtic fans looking for a scapegoat. Commons also said that the recruitment under Rodgers hasn’t been good enough and he’s got a point there. The first cracks are appearing in Brendan Rodgers’ armour and it will be fascinating to see how he copes under real pressure for the first time this season.