Celtic do not need to resort to the transfer market to find a back-up left-back; they have a fantastic youngster crying out for a chance.
The idea of splurging a six-figure sum on a back-up left-back may not appeal to Celtic.
After all, it would be almost impossible to find an improvement for Kieran Tierney within their budget, meaning whoever arrives to replace Emilio Izaguirre will most likely spend the majority of his time in Scotland glued to the substitutes bench.
Therefore, it would make little sense for Celtic to splash out on the likes of Joe Bryan. The Mirror claimed that Celtic were interested in the Bristol City flyer, though Somerset Live suggest he could cost up to £10 million – a club-record fee.
Furthermore, even Miquel Nelom, the Feyenoord title winner with a year remaining on his contract, could be considered a little steep at £1 million, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
Therefore, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will have been thrilled by the effervescent display of home-grown left-back Calvin Miller.
The 19-year-old shone on only his second league appearance for the Bhoys as Rodgers rotated his side after Wednesday’s 5-0 Champions League qualifying cruise over Astana of Kazakhstan.
With Kieran Trippier dropping into an unfamiliar centre-half role, Celtic supporters could be forgiven for doing a double take and wondering whether his doppelganger had snuck onto the field.
Because Miller, like fellow teenager Anthony Ralston at right-back, was full of confidence and attacking endeavour, pushing forward with pace and intent.
Expect to see a lot more of the local lad in the weeks and months to come. Because Rodgers could have just found a player capable of saving Celtic a rather substantial outlay in the final two weeks of the transfer window.
Why spend big on a back-up left-back when you have an immensely talented youngster chomping at the bit the prove his worth?
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