Despite the return from injury of Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, Brendan Rodgers must keep the faith and select Oliver Burke as the team’s central striker against Valencia tomorrow night.
Rodgers hasn’t had many positive selection headaches in recent weeks given our injury list, but with key players returning from fitness problems he now has a stable of players to choose from that would be the envy of most managers.
Edouard has been used as a substitute in three of Celtic’s last four matches, slowly building fitness having been out of action since mid-December.
The record club signing is looking hungry and determined to impress from the bench and will be desperate to play in the UEFA Europa League clash, but for me there is only one man to pick and that’s loan signing Burke.
The 21-year-old Scotland international has been in deadly form since joining from West Bromwich Albion last month, scoring three goals and assisting twice in seven matches so far.
Short-term loan signings rarely produce a player as committed as he is right now and dropping him for the massive European match may be tempting with Edouard waiting in the wings, but Rodgers must capitalise on the player’s confidence and unleash him at Celtic Park.
His raw pace and power will be a real thorn in Valencia’s side all night and could be the kind of weapon we need to keep them on the back foot and wary of our ability to break forward with speed and incisiveness.
The argument could be made that Edouard is more accomplished at playing with his back to goal and is even perhaps a more lethal finisher, but Burke is almost unstoppable right now.
Could the pair of them play together? That’s another interesting proposition but one that would likely see the team miss out on Ryan Christie’s industrious play or James Forrest’s dynamic threat on the right wing.
Thankfully whichever eleven Rodgers chooses should be a strong one and I can’t wait to see the team test themselves against a higher calibre of opponent.