Youssouf Mulumbu would have been hoping to rediscover the form that he showed before he moved to Celtic.
Youssouf Mulumbu already appeared to be fighting an uphill battle to try and turn his Celtic career around.
The midfielder left Parkhead on loan in January having only made three appearances for the Hoops following his arrival in 2018. His return to Kilmarnock appeared to be a smart move.
Mulumbu became one of the Scottish Premiership’s most impressive midfielders during his first spell at Rugby Park. So it is not difficult to see why he thought rejoining Steve Clarke’s side gave him the best chance to prove a point to Brendan Rodgers.
Unfortunately however, the only point that Rodgers has probably taken from the early stages of his loan spell is that he was right to let him leave the Bhoys.
Killie were knocked out of the Scottish Cup after being hammered 5-0 by Rangers at Ibrox. Mulumbu endured a very difficult night, and was arguably at fault for one of the goals in particular as he looked to dribble across the edge of his own penalty area and the ball ended up falling to Alfredo Morelos.
The fact that Mulumbu lost the midfield battle with Glen Kamara so comfortably also sticks out. TEAMtalk reported in December that Celtic were one of the teams keen on signing Kamara from Dundee, so that may perhaps make his display even more difficult to come back from.
One game will not decide Mulumbu’s Celtic future. And he was not the worst player on show by any means. But with the Hoops looking to improve upon a squad that stands a fantastic chance of winning their third successive domestic Treble, he has clearly not done himself any favours at all.
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