Chris Sutton has claimed that Scott Sinclair has “no future” at Celtic.
The 30-year-old has played just 11 minutes in the Scottish Premiership so far this term, and Sutton is of the opinion that his time at Parkhead is effectively over.
Writing in a column for the Daily Record, he said: “Scott Sinclair appears to have no future at Celtic. Europa League squad or not, the winger has been out in the cold.
“James Forrest, Mikey Johnston, Lewis Morgan are ahead of him. Marian Shved is there and Neil Lennon has brought in Mohammed Elyounoussi on loan and he cost Southampton £16million last term.
“Sinclair’s chances of getting even a sub outing seem bleak after he had, in the eyes of most folk, a disappointing 2018-19 season.”
Is Sutton right?
You fear, for Sinclair’s sake, that he might be.
Having had such a minimal involvement in the early stages of this new campaign, and with the wealth of talent ahead of him in the pecking order at Parkhead, it’s really hard to see how Sinclair can force his way back into Neil Lennon’s plans.
Forrest and Johnston seem like the manager’s first choice pair at this stage, but Elyounoussi promises to be a challenger for a starting role as well when he gets up to speed.
It may seem odd, considering he bagged 17 goals in all competitions last season, but the perception of Sinclair is that he is a spent force with the Hoops, and once that kind of feeling begins to envelope a player, it can be so hard for them to turn the tide.
What now for Sinclair?
A move away from Celtic seems like a creeping inevitability.
Whether it is in January or at the end of the season, Sinclair surely has to go, for the sake of self-preservation more than anything else.
There was talk of him perhaps moving abroad over the summer, as per Football Insider, but surely there would be a raft of sides in England willing to take a chance on him.
If he could get anywhere near to being the player that he was when he was registering 1.5 successful dribbles and a pass completion rate of 84.6% per game for Aston Villa back in 2015/16, as per Whoscored, then he would be real asset to just about anybody in the Championship.
Whether he’d be willing to make that drop, however, is another matter entirely.