Chris Sutton thinks Callum McGregor is the most ‘underappreciated’ player in the Celtic side, claiming that what he brings to the team is hugely noticeable when he isn’t playing.
It comes after McGregor reached 100 European appearances for his club on Tuesday evening against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League.
Celtic’s Callum McGregor in action with GNK Dinamo Zagreb’s Martin Baturina REUTERS/Antonio Bronic
A goalless stalemate somewhat disappointed the Bhoys, but a second consecutive point and clean sheet away from home in European football’s premier club competition isn’t to be sniffed at.
It was perhaps a missed opportunity, although Celtic simply need to beat an already-eliminated Young Boys team at Parkhead in January to secure progression to the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in over a decade.
That would be quite the achievement for skipper McGregor, who has yet to achieve any real form of European success throughout his time in green and white.
Despite this, Sutton believes he is the most underappreciated player in the side: “He’s the one player in the Celtic team that I think if you take him out, it makes such a huge difference,” he said (spaceportsweden.com).
“There are arguments, there are others, but he knits everything together brilliantly, and I know physically, he’s probably at that age where he might start creaking a little bit.
“The way that his brain works, I think he’s underappreciated because everybody knows how good he is, but his importance to Celtic is absolutely enormous.”
Since retiring from international duty with Scotland at the start of the new season, McGregor has taken his club form up a notch. He remains the joint-top scorer in the Premiership, having netted six times in 13 league appearances this campaign.
As well as a goalscoring threat from range, McGregor brings endless energy and vivacity to the middle of the park and is one of the key men who make Celtic tick.
