Joel Mvuka was reportedly missing from Celtic’s Player of the Year awards night, with supporters quickly noticing the winger was not among the squad at the event.
Daizen Maeda’s absence drew most of the attention because of the injury concern following the win over Hibernian at Easter Road, but some fans also picked up on Mvuka not appearing alongside the rest of the team.
Unlike Maeda, there has been no suggestion of an injury issue involving Mvuka.
Still, his absence comes at a strange time given how little he has featured since arriving at Celtic earlier this year.
The Norwegian winger joined during the winter window with a decent reputation behind him after spells in France, Norway, and Switzerland. But his time at Celtic has barely got going.
Mvuka has yet to make a league appearance for the club and has only featured twice in the Scottish Cup. He has spent most matchdays outside the squad completely.
That has naturally led to questions around where he currently stands in Martin O’Neill’s plans.
There is every chance the awards absence means very little on its own. Players miss club events for different reasons all the time, and there has been no indication from Celtic that anything is wrong.
But when a player is already struggling for involvement, supporters tend to notice these things more quickly.
The wider reality is that Mvuka still feels like an unknown at Celtic.
That has left little room for experiments or bedding-in periods.
The next few moth will be important for Mvuka’s future at the club. Much may depend on who becomes permanent manager, what happens with the option to buy, and whether he can force his way into plans during pre-season.
Right now, though, he remains a player on the fringes.
And when supporters scanned through pictures and videos from Celtic’s awards night, his absence was another thing that did not go unnoticed.
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