The Celtic boss is delighted which his first-choice striker.
A confident Ronny Deila has declared he is ‘not afraid’ of heading into Europe next season with Leigh Griffiths as his first-choice striker, according to the Scottish Express.
The Celtic forward was a hat-trick hero against Dundee United on Sunday afternoon as the Bhoys won 3-0 to move eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership once again.
But Deila’s comments can be seen as bad news for John Guidetti – the Manchester City loanee whose contract expires at the end of the season.
He said: “I’m not afraid of going into the European qualifiers with Leigh as my No 1 striker.
“He’s showing he can score goals. If he continues working hard, he’ll score goals in Europe as well.”
And, after two recent Celtic hat-tricks, you can understand Deila’s confidence in his leading man.
Griffiths proved himself at Wolves and is now doing a brilliant job with the Bhoys. Maybe the Norwegian’s biggest worry should be whether the 24-year-old’s superb form attracts interest from a Premier League side!
After a season working with Deila, Griffiths is very much coming into his own. And there’s no doubt as to who is Celtic’s first-choice forward.
That, though, could mean one of two things for Guidetti: A) if he stays at Parkhead next season, he’ll have a real battle on his hands to dislodge Griffiths or B) Griffiths’s form means Celtic don’t consider the Swede essential to their transfer plans this summer.
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