When Reo Hatate trudged off the Parkhead field after seven minutes of the home tie against Atlético Madrid two weeks ago, he gave Brendan Rodgers a midfield conundrum in exchange for an embrace of consolation.
With the midfield playmaker out injured until after Christmas, Rodgers has been testing the waters with different midfielders deputising in the Japanese international’s place.
Both Paulo Bernardo and David Turnbull have started in Reo’s absence, whilst Tomoki Iwata and Odin Thiago Holm have impressed with appearances from the bench, but have any of these back-up options done enough to claim the third midfield berth as their own?
Tomoki Iwata
Bringing the Japanese midfielder in for his first start of the season could be an interesting although unlikely proposition for the manager. Iwata has featured scarcely from the bench this season. His best performance has been as a sub at Tynecastle against Hearts when he blasted an effort past Zander Clark that cannoned in off of the crossbar.
Goalscoring isn’t his game, so it is unlikely that Rodgers will utilise another defensive midfielder domestically, unless we are at the stage of a game where he can be introduced to help shore up the midfield and add a bit more solidity to proceedings.
Odin Thiago Holm
Much like Iwata, the appearance of the young Norwegian have all come from the bench recently, including his maiden Champions League bow which didn’t produce the dream scenario that the 20-year-old would have hoped for.
His inexperience came to the fore as he was sent off a matter of moments after taking to the field against Feyenoord in Rotterdam, and he will need to display more composure as Rodgers drip-feeds him game-time this season.
Paulo Bernardo
The Benfica loanee has had the most minutes in the Champions League out of all the midfielders mentioned. Rodgers showed a substantial amount of faith in the 21-year-old when he was chosen to replace Reo in home fixture against Atleti. He provided a lot of energy to the Celtic team despite his lack of match sharpness and was constantly proving to be a thorn in the Spanish team’s side.
He also started the following game against Hibs which provided a bit more of a mixed performance, and he showed a willingness to get forward in Dingwall where perhaps he was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet. Bernardo hasn’t put much of a foot wrong in his time at Celtic, but there is another midfielder in better form who may just pip him to that starting position.
David Turnbull
Contract talks for Turnbull have been one of the main conversations surrounding Celtic over the last week, and for good reason as he put in some impressive performances in his two starts against St Mirren and Ross County.
Against two compact and organised sides, he did well to unlock the spaces and create plentiful opportunities for teammates as well as himself, scoring two cracking goals from long distance.
Rodgers hasn’t shown that he trusts Turnbull to start in Europe, but domestically this player can damage virtually any side.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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