Brendan Rodgers has warned Celtic supporters not to expect too much, too soon from summer signing Daniel Arzani after he made his first appearance for the club’s reserve side last week.
The Australian international made headlines and created a bit of social media buzz after scoring a superb free-kick in reserve league action, leaving some fans hopeful that he might feature for the first-team sooner rather than later.
Rodgers though has poured a bit of cold water on all that, urging patience and realistic expectations.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Hoops boss said of the teenager:
He’s a good boy — it’s just about managing expectations. He came out of nowhere and went to the World Cup, became the youngest player there.
All of a sudden there’s a spotlight on him, so this is about him taking a step back into reality again.
This is a boy who had never played 90 minutes of senior football, but people are expecting him to come in and be like Eden Hazard or Harry Kewell.
Sorry to burst the bubble, but he needs a bit of time to build up his fitness and confidence. He’s adapting to a new country after hardly being out of Australia.
And he’s still only 19. I’m sure in time he’ll prove to be a very very good young player.
Arzani will have plenty of time to prove himself at the Hoops despite only being on loan from Manchester City, with his temporary spell in Glasgow not set to end until the summer of 2020.
The extended loan switch allows him to freedom to be gradually introduced into senior action and Rodgers is clearly taking his development seriously by not rushing him into important matches too soon.
As for the hype, well that’s only to be expected as long as the youngster keeps shining for the reserves side. Hopefully it’s the kind of contribution that we’ll see in the first-team before long.
Is Rodgers right to temper expectations surrounding Arzani? Share your thoughts in the comments below…