Celtic remained six points clear of Rangers in the Premiership title race on Sunday after a draw in the last Old Firm derby of the term, but where are Neil Lennon’s side that won their last title now?
Ange Postecoglou took up the Parkhead helm last summer and rang the changes from the squad Lennon had left behind. The Northern Irishman had stepped down from his position as boss that February, having seen the Hoops fall 18 points adrift of Steven Gerrard’s Gers.
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The Bhoys had started last season with their sights set on a record 10th championship in a row. Both Celtic and Rangers had previously won nine consecutive titles from 1966 to 1974 and 1989 to 1997. But they instead saw their Glasgow rivals lift their first title since 2011.
Postecoglou oversaw a summer of upheaval in Celtic’s quest to close the gap to Rangers. A total of 14 players left Parkhead in either permanent or loan transfers, and 12 fresh faces joined to replace them. A further five recruits also arrived in January as another six exited.
The new Hoops chief also had to make do without Lennon’s three loan stars of Mohamed Elyounoussi, Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Gers still need to turn over a six point gap to retain the title. Both sides have three games left this season, including Dundee United and Hearts, while Celtic host Motherwell and Rangers host Ross County.
So, where are the men Lennon used most in Celtic’s last Premiership title in 2019/20 now?
Fraser Forster (GK) – Southampton
Fraser Forster returned to Celtic on loan from Southampton for 2019/20 after falling out of favour at St Mary’s. The goalkeeper had only made three Premier League appearances the previous term. But he would keep 14 clean sheets in 28 Premiership games for the Hoops.
The shot-stopper had spent four years at Parkhead between 2010 and 2014, including two seasons on loan, after joining from Newcastle United. He would eventually join the Saints for £10m, and has regained the number one position under Ralph Hasenhuttl this season.
Forster started the campaign on the bench as Alex McCarthy’s understudy, but stepped in from Boxing Day. McCarthy has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in December, while Forster’s form also saw Gareth Southgate recall the 34-year-old to the England fold.
Jeremie Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen
Jeremie Frimpong helped Celtic win the Premiership during his first season at Parkhead in 2019/20. Lennon paid Manchester City £300k to buy the right-back, who later joined Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021 for £11.5m. The Hoops owed City 30% of the profit they made.
The Dutchman featured in 14 Scottish top-flight fixtures on route to the title, and provided three assists and two goals. He also only appeared in one league defeat, coming at home to Rangers in December 2019 as Ryan Kent and Nikola Katic took a 2-1 win away to Celtic.
Frimpong has gone on to make 47 appearances with Die Werkself across all competitions. He has also offered two goals and nine assists, but has not featured since March after he suffered a season-ending ankle ligament tear that required Frimpong to undergo surgery.
Christopher Jullien – Celtic
Christopher Jullien has barely made a dent in Postecoglou’s plans at Celtic, after returning from a cruciate ligament knee injury in January. He developed the issue after colliding with the post in the second-half of the Hoops’ 3-0 win over Dundee United in December 2020.
The centre-half was a mainstay of Lennon’s plans whenever he was fit, though. He started 28 of a possible 29 Premiership games during the 2019/20 campaign, only sitting out a 2-1 win over Hamilton Academical. He also offered four goals and two assists in the top-flight.
Kristoffer Ajer – Brentford
Lennon most often favoured Kristoffer Ajer beside Jullien in his Celtic defence with the 24-year-old likewise making 28 Premiership appearances. He only sat out a 2-0 win away to Rangers in September 2019 and a 3-0 win at home to Ross County the following January.
Ajer would depart Parkhead in the summer of 2021 as Postecoglou made the Hoops ranks his own. The Norway star got a £13.5m transfer to Premier League newcomers Brentford. He has been a fixture of their side since, but did miss two months with a hamstring injury.
Boli Bolingoli – Celtic
Boli Bolingoli may still be at Celtic from their last Premiership title-winning side in 2019/20, but the left-back is not in favour with Postecoglou. Rarely did the 26-year-old play over the opening half of the campaign, before the Bhoys sought to strike a loan switch with FC Ufa.
However, he returned to Glasgow after training with the Russian outfit after the move fell through. Ufa could not obtain a work permit for Bolingoli following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, per the Glasgow Times, putting his long-term Hoops future very much in doubt.
Scott Brown – Retired
Scott Brown captained Celtic to their second run of nine-in-a-row from 2012 to 2020 over a trophy-laden career in green-and-white. He eventually left Parkhead to join Aberdeen in July 2021 as a player-coach. But he spent less than a year at Pittodrie before retiring in March.
The midfielder left Aberdeen less than halfway through a two-year contract to focus on his coaching development and becoming a manager. Brown made 611 appearances with Celtic during his time in Glasgow, while also lifting six Scottish Cups and seven League Cups.
Callum McGregor – Celtic
Callum McGregor adopted the Celtic captaincy from Brown and has more than lived up to his duties as skipper since. The midfielder regularly dictates games for Postecoglou’s side and scores important goals, to set an ideal example for his Parkhead teammates to follow.
Postecoglou has even hailed McGregor for playing ‘outstanding’ football during his tenure so far. The Australian has rarely left the Scot out, even after he sustained two fractures in a cheekbone after he collided with Alloa Athletic midfielder Adam King in the Scottish Cup.
James Forrest – Celtic
Injuries have kept James Forrest from locking down a key presence in Postecoglou’s Hoops line-up. But the 30-year-old was a vital and influential part of Lennon’s squad as Celtic won their last Premiership title in 2019/20, making 28 appearances and also starting each time.
The 38-cap Scotland winger also scored 10 goals and laid on a further 17 assists across his top-flight outings. His efforts saw Forrest rank third in the Bhoys’ scoring charts and offer the most assists, with five more than any other player who featured in green-and-white.
Ryan Christie – Bournemouth
Ryan Christie provided the third-most assists by a Celtic player in the 2019/20 Premiership season with 11. He also scored the second-most with 11 over 24 appearances, of which he only started 17 and played the full 90 minutes on just 13 occasions following one red card.
The 28-cap Scotland maestro would stay at Parkhead for one further term before a £2.5m transfer to Bournemouth last September. He had entered the final year of his contract at Celtic and turned down new terms to forge a so far vital career on the English south coast.
Leigh Griffiths – Falkirk
Leigh Griffiths ended the 2019/20 season with nine goals and four assists over 21 games as Celtic won the Premiership. But a year later and with Postecoglou at the helm, he was off to Dundee on loan. Yet his Dens Park switch did not work out and he returned in January.
The forward struggled for form with Dundee, returning just three goals in 17 games across all competitions. Celtic did not want Griffiths back, however, and released the striker, who later joined Falkirk in February on a deal running only until the end of the 2021/22 season.
Odsonne Edouard – Crystal Palace
Odsonne Edouard fired Celtic to their last Premiership title in 2019/20 with 21 goals over 27 games and laid on 12 assists. His haul of 21 also saw the Frenchman claim the Golden Boot as the only player throughout the Scottish top-flight to riffle the net more than 13 times.
But like Christie, Postecoglou had to sell Edouard in the summer 2021 transfer market as the forward had entered the final year of his Hoops contract. Crystal Palace paid Celtic an initial £14m, rising to £18.5m with add-ons, and afforded the striker a £70k-a-week deal.
Life at Selhurst Park has not been smooth sailing for the 24-year-old, though. He has failed to secure a consistent starting presence under boss Patrick Vieira, who has preferred Jean-Philippe Mateta. Even after Edouard scored twice on his Eagles debut to beat Tottenham.
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