Chris Sutton has argued that some of the criticism being directed at Celtic new boy Boli Bolingoli is unjustified.
The 24-year-old is the Hoops’ only senior left-back, and has yet to lose a match in a Celtic shirt, but has still come in for some flack from the Parkhead faithful, as reported by This Is Futbol.
But writing in a column for the Daily Record, Sutton said: “Some of the criticism of Bolingoli has been unfair.
“He had a couple of ropey games but has shown signs of finding his feet.
“I think he will come good, he’s quick, athletic and dangerous going forward. He needs to be more secure at the back but it could come.”
Is Sutton right about Bolingoli?
To be fair to the defender, you can’t help feeling that the early stages of his Celtic career have been marred by a couple of pretty big errors.
The penalty he conceded against AIK in midweek was clumsy more than anything else, and while it was his positional awareness that let him down, it didn’t affect the game too much, and it probably would have been swept under the carpet had it not come so early in his time with the club.
There are still some other worrying flaws in his game that need addressing, however.
According to Wyscout, the 24-year-old has won just 53% of his defensive duels so far this season, while on the front foot he has attempted 2.98 dribbles per 90 minutes with a success rate of just over 50%.
Those are hardly flattering statistics, but there are still enough positives to suggest that he could be a success.
As Sutton claims, he has the physical attributes needed to be a hit, and the hope will be that these early teething problems are nothing too substantial to worry about.
What can Lennon do to help Bolingoli?
First and foremost, the Hoops need another left-back.
Bolingoli has been well and truly thrown in at the deep end after Kieran Tierney’s transfer to Arsenal this summer, and rather than being given the time to acclimatise to life in Scotland, he has been forced to perform from the outset.
If Lennon could land another full-back to ease the workload on his new man, then perhaps Bolingoli could be slowly introduced to the first team, allowing him to work through his initial problems at his own pace.
Greg Taylor has been heavily linked, but as reported by the BBC, the Hoops have yet to land a successful bid in their pursuit of the Kilmarnock 21-year-old.
From Bolingoli’s point of view, however, a little bit of support could go a long way towards him realising the potential that Sutton thinks he has.