Pundit Hugh MacDonald has revealed that Celtic manager Neil Lennon has ‘great faith’ in loan signing Mohamed Elyounoussi.
MacDonald was recently a guest on the latest video of the PLZ Soccer – The Football Show YouTube channel and a discussion took place about Celtic’s performances in their recent friendlies in France. Amidst all that, MacDonald began talking about Elyounoussi and praised the Norwegian.
Elyounoussi recently featured in the club’s friendly against Lyon and he found the back of the net. Despite that, the Hoops lost the game 2-1 as Moussa Dembele scored against his former side (via SportsMole).
Will Lennon's faith in Elyounoussi pay off?
Yes, no question about it
No, he'll be a disappointment
While talking about the Southampton loanee, though, MacDonald revealed that Lennon has ‘great faith’ in the player.
He said: “I think the decision to play [him] in the League Cup final when he was quite not right probably set him back a bit.
“I know Neil Lennon has great faith in him and he’s a quality player. The thing for Celtic as well – in that 4-2-3-1, he can play anywhere in the three and in [a] desperate stage, he can be a number nine or false number nine as well. There’s a bit of versatility. I think he’ll be an important player for Celtic this season.”
MacDonald clearly has high praise for Elyounoussi, who is valued at £8.55 million. He believes that his qualities and versatile nature will help Celtic a lot in the 2020/21 Premiership campaign.
TIF Thoughts…
The fact that Lennon has already signed Elyounoussi on a second loan deal this summer could be a reflection of how he indeed does have a lot of faith in the Norwegian. Elyounoussi scoring a goal against Lyon could be a sign that he is now slowly improving at Celtic.
The 2019/20 season saw him contribute to 13 goals in 20 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops, but his progress was hindered by a foot injury that had kept him out for 11 games. If not for that, his numbers could have been even better.
In the 2017/18 campaign at Basel, Elyounoussi impressed by contributing to 30 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions for the Swiss side. That is a very good return and Celtic fans can only hope that Lennon’s faith pays off and he replicates his form from the 2017/18 season for the Hoops.