Scotland coach Mark McGhee believes Leigh Griffiths would waltz into the Newcastle side.
Leigh Griffiths of Celtic scores against Anderlecht
Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee has told The Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths could easily play for a Premier League team like Brighton or Newcastle.
Griffiths, 27, joined Celtic from Wolverhampton Wanderers back in January 2014, and whilst he arrived with question marks over his quality, he has been a key player for the Bhoys for almost four years.
The Scot has now hit 92 goals in just 147 games for Celtic, including 40 goals in 51 games during the 2015-16 season, becoming the first Bhoys ace to hit 40 goals in one season since Henrik Larsson in the 2003-04 campaign.
Griffiths hit the headlines over the summer with two goals, both from free kicks, in Scotland’s 2-2 draw with England, and he has also made a strong start to this season.
With Moussa Dembele working his way back to fitness, Griffiths has been serving as Celtic’s leading striker, and he has notched eight goals in 15 appearances this term.
On Thursday, Scotland take on Slovakia in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park, and Griffiths is expected to lead the line for Gordon Strachan’s side, with Scotland assistant Mark McGhee now hailing the striker.
McGhee has told the Glasgow Evening Times that he wasn’t sure whether Griffiths could be a success in the Championship 18 months ago, but he now believes that Griffiths is good enough for the Premier League, claiming he would easily get in the Brighton or Newcastle side.
McGhee hailed Griffiths’ development as an all-round striker, and predicted that Celtic will be batting away approaches from other clubs for his signature if he does manage to maintain his progression.
“A year to 18 months ago if someone down the road had said to me ‘could Leigh Griffiths do well in the Championship?’ I’d have said ‘He is a finisher. In the right team then probably.’” said McGhee. “Now if someone asked if he could do well in the Premier League I’d not hesitate. His all-round game has improved so much. Remember I watch these games all the time. Last week I was at Brighton against Newcastle and Leigh could have played in either of those teams. Absolutely no danger.”
“That’s how much he has come on as far as I’m concerned. The thing about that England game is people look at his free-kicks and see one thing. They don’t necessarily see his open game and that role. In his Champions League games with Celtic more and more people will see it and more and more attention will come from it. It’s not for the last four years he has been doing this. He’s improved over the last year to 18 months. Therefore he needs to sustain that and I’m sure then Celtic will be batting away approaches for him,” he added.
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