‘Ill-advised’: 47-year-old claims Celtic player made a big mistake joining the Hoops

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Scottish Premiership champions Celtic haven’t seen Manchester City loanee Daniel Arzani since September 2018 – will he ever return under Neil Lennon?

Mark Schwarzer believes Australia starlet Daniel Arzani made the wrong call when he joined Celtic on loan from Manchester City in the summer, speaking to the Two Sharp Reds Podcast.

With the end of his two-year loan spell at Parkhead coming to an end in June, a young winger with magic in his boots must be wondering what might have been.

Big things were expected of Arzani when he arrived in the summer of 2018, shortly after becoming the youngest player to feature at the Russia World Cup, but a player many tipped to become the successor to Patrick Roberts has endured a Celtic career more akin to Charly Musonda.

The 2018 A-League Young Player of the Year suffered a cruciate ligament injury on his Celtic debut against Dundee just weeks after joining and has never been seen since.

And while Arzani’s struggles may be down to bad luck more than anything else, a legendary Australian goalkeeper believes that he never should have joined the Scottish Premiership champions in the first place.

“I said straight away, ‘I think it’s the wrong move for him’,” said Schwarzer. “I don’t think Celtic’s style of play suits him; I don’t think it’s the right environment for him to go into to develop as a player.

“And what do I mean by that? He needs game time. He needs to play in a first team. He needs to play in a team that play a style of football that suits him best.

“He’s a very gifted technical player, a player that loves to get the ball at his feet and run at opposition, but as a ball-playing player he needs other intelligent players around him.”

“For Daniel Arzani, I think he was ill-advised.”

In Celtic’s defence, countless young talents have been handed their big breaks at Parkhead over the years before going on to shine elsewhere, from Virgil van Dijk to Victor Wanyama and Moussa Dembele.

And, in Neil Lennon, The Hoops have a coach who loves enigmatic wide players like Arzani. If it wasn’t for that cruel injury blow in September 2018, the biggest Australian talent of his generation could have been heading back to Man City with his reputation greatly enhanced.