Pundit Noel Whelan is unhappy with new Celtic signing Ismaila Soro’s comments about him aiming to join Liverpool in the near future.
The 21-year-old was confirmed as a Celtic player yesterday, as the midfielder admitted to having Liverpool as the club he ultimately dreams of playing for in the future. He also revealed that playing in the Premier League is a ‘dream’ for the Ivory Coast man.
Was Soro right to talk about Liverpool?
He sure can!
No, he's never going there
But Whelan was recently talking to FootballInsider247 and he wasn’t happy with Soro’s comments about Liverpool.
He told the outlet:
“I know it’s very strange to hear that when you’ve come to a new club, but if you want that stepping stone then you need to hit the ground running with Celtic and do a job for them first and foremost.”
Here’s what else he had to say:
“Covers the ground well, is very tenacious in the tackle. He looks the sort of player that they need next to Brown.
“He’s already said that he wants to play for Liverpool as well.”
A useful signing
Soro is 21 and was a regular in the first-team for his former club Bnei Yehuda in the Israeli Premier League. The midfielder made 24 appearances in all competitions for the club before joining Celtic, but he couldn’t score or assist even once. But he was their regular defensive midfielder.
Even last season, Soro was a constant presence in midfield for Yehuda. He made 35 appearances in all competitions, assisting twice but not scoring at all. 32 of his appearances came in the defensive midfield, with two coming in central midfield.
TIF Tactics
As things stand, Celtic have regularly been using a 4-2-3-1 shape under Neil Lennon. The duo of Callum McGregor and Scott Brown has been the constant in the double pivot. Brown has made 20 Premiership appearances, while McGregor too has made 20 appearances in the league for the Hoops.
The fact that they’ve played 20 games each shows that the Hoops need depth in that position. Soro adds just that and being a defensive midfielder, he can be a useful player. Whether he will move to Liverpool or in the Premier League in the future will depend on what he does in the game time he gets.