Injury free and back on form, Kyriakos Papadopoulos should be on Brendan Rodgers’ radar again – but will Celtic get their man?
Just a few seasons ago, Kyriakos Papadopoulos was flanking the likes of Kurt Zouma and Raphael Varane as one of Europe’s most promising centre-halves.
As recently as 2015, the Daily Mirror reported that then-Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was striving to bring the powerhouse Greek to Anfield. They claimed that the Northern Irishman had scouted Papadopoulos for a number of years and had held talks with the player’s agent.
Yet, it’s fair to say that the former Schalke prodigy has not quite lived up to those exalted early expectations. Like Zouma, Papadopoulos missed over a year of football between 2012 and 2013. And, after playing just four times in the Bundesliga in his purported recovery campaign, he was forced to sit out the World Cup in Brazil.
In fact, only now is the 25-year-old starting to fulfil his formidable potential. After making just one appearance in another injury-stricken loan spell with RB Leipzig from Bayer Leverkusen in the first-half of the season, Papadopoulos has come roaring back, better than ever at Hamburg.
Enjoying an uninterrupted run of games for the first time in many a season, the full-blooded, iron-headed centre-back has been nothing short of inspirational on loan at the Bundesliga giants. Despite sitting just four points clear of the relegation play-off spot, they have lost only once in the last ten games with Papadopoulos in the starting XI.
He scored twice too – ironically, against RB Leipzig and Leverkusen. And boy did he celebrate.
However, with his future beyond the end of the season still unclear, it’s likely that Papadopoulos could be on the move again. And that is where Celtic come in.
Rodgers is facing up to the prospect of Erik Sviatchenko angling for a summer exit after admitting his displeasure over a reduced role since Christmas. And now appears the perfect time for the manager to finally snap up one of his most long-awaited targets.
Papadopoulos should be more affordable these days and his spirit and infectious attitude would make him a hero among Celtic supporters.
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