The 4th Official
·13 April 2020
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsThe 4th Official
·13 April 2020
Amid all the mayhem and chaos over SPFL’s stance in deciding the fate of the current campaign, Celtic are regrouping themselves for the upcoming term to accomplish the potential ‘nine/ten in a row’ mission. They had a busy winter in terms of incomings, but a few exits are on the cards as well to make way for new names in due time.
This includes Marian Shved who struggled to settle in Glasgow despite being at the club since last summer. As per the reports back in his homeland (as claimed by the Daily Record), several Ukrainian outfits are keen on bringing him on loan and offer an opportunity to resurrect his career with first-team football.
Oleksandriya, among all the suitors, are leading the race who finished third last season. They might be having an underwhelming run this term but are ambitious enough to make up lost ground and compete against the league giants Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv. The 22-year-old was roped in by Brendan Rodgers late in his Celtic reign, and his successor at Parkhead Neil Lennon has not handed him enough gametime despite the player finding the net on his debut against Nõmme Kalju FC in the Champions League qualifiers.
The winger had injury frustrations during his time, but 40 minutes of football over three outings suggest he does not belong in the manager’s plans. Shved registered 15 goals and four assists in 26 appearances for Karpaty Lviv in 2018-19 before completing the £2m transfer but failed to challenge or cover James Forrest down the right-hand flank.
The player, meanwhile, is determined to fight for his place at Celtic over returning to Ukraine and admitted the fact that the quality in the current squad refrained him from attaining games for the Scottish champions. He has not featured since appearing for five minutes against Clyde in the Scottish Cup earlier this year and is fighting a losing battle that he needs to understand.
Celtic are likely to explore the summer window to bolster themselves in multiple areas including the wide attacking slot following the January exit of their other fringe stars in Scott Sinclair and Lewis Morgan. The new arrivals would once again push Shved down the pecking order, whereas a productive loan spell at Oleksandriya might still keep the hopes of making it to Lennon’s plan alive in the forthcoming future.