Liam Scales admits he is not sure whether he will be a Celtic player next season after spending the current campaign on loan at Scottish Premiership rivals Aberdeen.
Only a very specialist type of full-back can really thrive in an Ange Postecoglou team. Just look at the positions Greg Taylor was picking up during Sunday’s 4-1 thumping of Kilmarnock at Rugby Park; the former Killie ace drifting into the sort of central, inverted positions reminiscent of Philipp Lahm at Bayern Munich.
Of Oleksandr Zinchenko under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.
Whether 24-year-old Scales has a future at his parent club, then, may depend on whether he too can embark upon the sort of tactical transformation similar to that of the suddenly multi-faceted Taylor at Parkhead.
Liam Scales facing uncertain future at Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic
Celtic signed Scales for around £500,000 during Postecoglou’s first summer in charge. The former Shamrock Rovers youngster has only made 13 Hoops appearances so far however; farmed out on loan to Aberdeen last June.
A decision will need to be made when the transfer window re-opens in a matter of weeks. Scales, speaking to the Press and Journal, admits that his future remains ‘out of my hands’. The ball very much in Postecoglou’s court.
“I am only looking towards the end of the season,” Scales explains. “I will need to report back to Celtic and see what the story is from there.
“They are in control of all that. It is out of my hands.”
The versatile, Dublin-born Scales is thriving in a centre-half role at Aberdeen, making 34 appearances. However, with Carl Starfelt and Yuki Kobayashi already at Postecoglou’s disposal – and with Taylor and Alexandro Bernabei fighting for a starting spot on the flank – it is difficult to see a consistent place for Scales in the Celtic squad going forward.
“Liam Scales and Anthony Stewart are looking brilliant together,” Former Dons boss Jim Goodwin told the Press and Journal before Christmas.
“They are working as I hoped they would. The two of them complement one another really well.
“If we can do that then it will be as good a centre-half pairing as there is out there, in my opinion.”
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