Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers may have finally discovered how to get Jonny Hayes in his starting XI.
It is a measure of the strength in Celtic’s squad that Jonny Hayes, who was nominated the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award last season, has endured a real challenge forcing his way into their starting XI.
Celtic appeared to pull off quite a coup reinforcing their fine squad with one of the league’s most in-form attackers, while simultaneously weakening perennial runners-up Aberdeen.
However, after Patrick Roberts arrived from Manchester City for a further year on loan and James Forrest recaptured his best form, Hayes suddenly found himself down the pecking order.
As such, after starting just one of Celtic’s first three Scottish Premiership fixtures, TEAMtalk reported that the Scottish champions were considering an offer from Cardiff City to take the 30-year-old winger on loan.
Yet, Brendan Rodgers may have found a use for Hayes at last, perhaps kick-starting a Celtic career that is yet to take off. The Northern Irish tactician tinkered with a 3-5-2 system in Saturday’s 4-0 win against Ross County, with Hayes tested in a very unfamiliar left-wing back role.
While Kieran Tierney is certainly a more natural fit for the position, Hayes produced arguably his finest performance in a Celtic shirt against Ross County at Parkhead.
A hard-working if not particularly creative display means Hayes is unlikely to make the left-wing back position his own any time soon. However, he might just have proven himself as a useful squad player for Rodgers going forward.
Suddenly, the decision not to loan him to Cardiff looks a good one.
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