The Sweden international has given no assurances about his Sunderland future – but could he make an impact at Celtic?
Whether rightly or wrongly, Lee Congerton has been apportioned his fair share of the blame for Sunderland’s often baffling recruitment in recent seasons. Yet, the former Black Cats sporting director could still make himself even more unpopular with the supporters in his new job north of the border at Celtic.
According to The Chronicle, Sebastian Larsson is out of contract at the end of the season and open to considering options away from the Stadium of Light.
And with Sunderland currently bottom of the Premier League and another Great Escape looking beyond them, relegation could well spell the end of Larsson’s six-season stay in the North East.
And Celtic’s newly appointed Head of Recruitment Congerton, who worked at the Stadium of Light for 21 months between 2014 and 2015, will be more than aware of the former Arsenal youngster’s considerable talents.
The question, however, is whether Larsson could play an important role at Celtic if offered the opportunity to continue his career in Scotland.
Though naturally a wideman, he evolved into a central midfielder at the Stadium of Light but, with Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong (below) in superb form this season, not to mention the injured Tom Rogic, Celtic are hardly lacking in central options.
That could change, however, with Nir Bitton out of favour under Rodgers and seemingly certain to leave. Furthermore, Kouassi Eboue’s dreadful debut against Dundee last week suggests he has a long way to go before he can make an impact at Celtic Park.
Therefore, Rodgers could welcome an extra dash of experience. Larsson, too, may be enticed by the idea of a title challenge after six years holding off relegation.
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