Former Scottish Premiership defender, Alex Bruce, believes that the return of Leigh Griffiths to action in a Celtic shirt will be a welcome addition to Neil Lennon’s match day squad once he is up to full speed.
Speaking to Football Insider, the ex-Kilmarnock centre-half played against Griffiths in his final season of professional football and has praised his efforts in pre-season to turn around a situation that once looked lost.
So what has Bruce said?
When asked to reflect on Griffiths’s situation that had the potential to become an unwelcome saga only for him to return in a pre-season friendly against Hibernian looking close to his best, he said:
“He’s gone away and turned it around and worked hard over the last month or so.
“He’ll be a good addition to the Celtic squad because obviously he’s scored a lot of goals and I’m sure Lennon is delighted he’s got him back.
“Lennon has gone public with his criticism when he came back to pre-season.
“He’s gone away and turned it around and worked hard over the last month or so.
“He’ll be a good addition to the Celtic squad because obviously he’s scored a lot of goals and I’m sure Lennon is delighted he’s got him back.”
So is Bruce correct?
In a similar story to the January transfer window earlier this year, the Hoops gaffer has been linked with a host of forwards as he looks to add strength in depth to his attack.
Does Griffiths deserve another chance to lead the line for Lennon?
Yes
No
With Odsonne Edouard, clearly, the undisputed first choice, Patryk Klimala has forced his way into the match day squad as a reliable back-up having scored goals in pre-season and promptly repaid the manager’s faith with a goal against Hamilton in the first game of the domestic campaign.
Celtic are rumoured to be in talks for deals for Ivan Toney, Albian Ajeti and Steven Fletcher but a fit Leigh Griffiths – especially if he can show a return to the form of early 2020 – surpasses all of these targets.
It’s worth noting that in Griffiths’s absence, Lennon has returned to a 4-2-3-1 formation rather than the 3-5-2 that saw his side stroll to their ninth successive league title, and should the Scotland international continue his recent return to prominence, as Bruce rightly says, there is every chance that he will deem the players lined up as unnecessary acquisitions.