Since joining Celtic on deadline day, Jeffrey Schlupp has been widely described as a utility player—and looking at his career, that might be an understatement.
The assumption is that Schlupp will be brought in to compete with Greg Taylor at left-back, but a deeper dive into his career stats shows he has played almost everywhere on the pitch—the only position missing from his résumé is goalkeeper!
A breakdown of Schlupp’s positional history shows just how versatile he truly is: [Transfermarkt]
- Left Midfield – 119 games
- Centre Midfield – 83 games
- Left-Back – 75 games
- Left Wing – 17 games
- Centre Forward – 11 games
- Right Midfield – 10 games
- Attacking Midfield – 4 games
- Second Striker – 2 games
- Defensive Midfield – 2 games
- Right Wing – 1 game
- Centre-Back – 1 game
With Alex Valle recalled by Barcelona and no other natural left-back competition, it’s expected that Schlupp will be deployed at left-back or left midfield, where he has played the bulk of his career.
However, his ability to slot into central midfield, attacking roles, or even as an emergency striker gives Brendan Rodgers plenty of options.
Whether he becomes a regular starter or a valuable squad player, Schlupp’s flexibility and experience will undoubtedly be an asset for Celtic as they compete on multiple fronts in the second half of the season.
It will be interesting to see how the manager uses the player for the six months and if he signs for Celtic permanently in the summer, when his Palace deal expires.
