Nobody expected Gustaf to get a lot of game time straight away when he signed. The club had signed Nawrocki as Starfelt’s replacement but Rodgers wanted another centre back option — enter Gustaf.
Injuries meant he would get much more game time at the beginning of his Celtic career. However, since the last international break, where he scored his first goal for Sweden, the defender had been wiped off the face of the earth. Failing to make any squad.
The Swedish defender, whose recent exploits with the national team had fans tipping their hats, found himself out of the Celtic squad again last night—an omission that speaks volumes about his current standing with the club.
When Cameron Carter-Vickers, a mainstay in the Celtic backline, was ruled out, it seemed a given that Lagerbielke would step into the breach. But instead, Maik Nawrocki, freshly recuperated from injury and arguably not match-fit, was preferred on the bench while Nat Phillips started alongside Scales. This decision adds a perplexing chapter to Lagerbielke’s Celtic narrative—a narrative that, thus far, seems to be written more in invisible ink than in the bold typeface his early promise deserved.
From a promising start, partnering Liam Scales in defence, and starting and scoring at the international level, his progress in a Celtic jersey has halted.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months, especially when Nat Philips heads back to Liverpool in January.
