With Celtic’s £3 million misfit looking to secure a route out of Parkhead before last week’s transfer deadline, he might not have expected help to come from such an unlikely source.
But after Rangers succeeded in bringing Robin Propper to Ibrox – securing a £1.5 million deal for the FC Twente captain – that paved the way for Gustaf Lagerbielke to make an escape, albeit only temporary one, from his benchwarming days under Brendan Rodgers.
Lagerbielke joins Twente on loan for the season.
There was interest from Eredivisie rivals Heerenveen and Derby County, newly-promoted to England’s second tier.
But with Propper’s departure leaving a colossal hole at the heart of Joseph Oosting’s backline, Twente needed no extra motivation to put forward a deal The Hoops eventually agreed to.
Celtic send Gustaf Lagerbielke to the Eredivisie with FC Twente
“Lagerbielke has height and is physically strong,” Twente reporter Geert-Jan Jakobs tells Voetbal International. “He adds that, and FC Twente really needed him.”
Technical director Arnold Bruggink, speaking to Voetbal International himself, admits that Propper’s departure left the Enschede outfit in a bit of a spin.
And, having considered a range of centre-back options, Bruggink can only hope now that the solution to their post-Propper problem might have just been found only a few miles down the road from their former captain’s new Glasgow home.
“I was looking for a stable player. Someone who can easily adapt in a short period who also has a bit more experience.” Bruggink explains, feeling that Lagerbielke’s qualities in possession should fit in nicely in the home of ‘Total Voetbal’.
“We found that person in Gustaf. He has height, can really defend and, very pleasantly, can play left and right in the centre.”
The Twente chief also feels that his side are a better fit than Celtic for a man who started only four Scottish Premiership games under Rodgers.
While impressive in possession, it was arguably Lagerbielke’s lack of recovery pace which caused issues in a typically high Celtic backline.
“Last year, he left for Celtic, where different things were asked of him. We think he is very suitable for our style of football,” adds Bruggink. “Gustaf is Swedish, and Swedes can generally adapt relatively easily (to life in the Netherlands).”
“We had a number of candidates in mind, but we didn’t want to wait around to see if something else would come our way. You have to act when you are convinced that you have found the right player. That’s what we did.”
Celtic bring in Auston Trusty from Sheffield United
There is no option or obligation-to-buy clause in Lagerbielke’s contract.
His departure, meanwhile, opened the door for Celtic to secure a £6 million deal for former Sheffield United centre-back Auston Trusty.
The America international may struggle to oust Liam Scales from Rodgers’ XI, however, after the increasingly-influential Irishman produced what Chris Sutton feels may have been his best Hoops display in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Propper’s Rangers.
“Scales (has) really stepped to the mark,” Sutton tells the Daily Record. “You can’t argue with what Scales has given and is still giving to his team and his boss.”
“It’s hard to imagine Trusty being signed up to be bench warmer at the cost of £6 million, and there is every chance he could build a really strong partnership with his compatriot Carter-Vickers.
“But he is going to have to prove on the training pitch and in the games that he is a level above the former Shamrock Rovers stopper. Because that was a performance from Scales which, short-term, does not deserve the reward of being dropped.”
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