Celtic pundit Chris Sermanni has delivered his verdict about the situation of the club’s midfielder Ismaila Soro.
Sermanni was recently present on the latest episode of The Cynic Weekly podcast and the panel was talking about many things involving the Parkhead side. But Sermanni went on to talk about the situation of Soro and why he’s not getting first-team football at Celtic.
Soro arrived at Parkhead in the January transfer window. The Ivorian joined the club from Israeli side Bnei Yehuda for a fee of £2 million (via Daily Record).
While addressing Soro’s situation at Parkhead, Sermanni said: “Soro’s particularly finding it difficult, because obviously he’s young and he’s just had to establish himself in the country.
Does Soro deserve a chance at Celtic?
Yes, he surely does
I don't think so
“But also the midfield that we have is the hardest area in the team to walk into. If you’ve got [Callum] McGregor and [Scott] Brown who seem as if they are going to start every game, and then you’ve got another place to go. And you’ve got players like [Ryan] Christie and [Tom] Rogic – when he’s on form, whenever that is, that’s a difficult place to ease your way into.”
Going by what Sermanni says, things seem pretty tricky for Soro at the moment. That is because of how he’s having to settle in at the Glasgow club and because of the competition Celtic have in the midfield area.
TIF Thoughts…
While Soro did arrive in January, he is yet to make a single first-team appearance for the Hoops. He was on the bench in Celtic’s Scottish Cup game against Clyde, but didn’t make an appearance. He is also yet to make it to the bench in a Premiership game (via Transfermarkt).
Before arriving at Parkhead, Soro had been a regular for Bnei Yehuda. The 22-year-old made 24 appearances in all competitions for the club.
It shows that he can a reliable midfield player and with time, there is a chance that he can become a regular for Celtic as well. Scott Brown isn’t getting any younger and Olivier Ntcham has been linked with a move to Southampton.
So maybe, Soro just has to wait for his chance and keep working hard in training and soon enough, Neil Lennon may give him a chance to shine.