Gustaf Lagerbielke played his part in Celtic’s Glasgow Derby victory over Rangers on Sunday, starring at centre-half alongside Liam Scales in the 1-0 win. The Swedish defender admittedly did have a few shaky moments, but on the whole was solid.
Lagerbielke will be keen to build on his derby debut for the champions against Dundee next weekend, although he has international duty before that. The 23-year-old was called into the Sweden squad for their matches against Estonia and Austria this month.
And since he has been with the Swedish squad, Lagerbielke has finally got to speak to former Hoops’ centre-back Carl Starfelt. The new Bhoy took the number four shirt that was made vacant by Starfelt and has recently said how he was pleased to speak to him.
Prior to this international break, the pair had yet to meet. Lagerbielke said (Glasgow Times): “But I did talk to him [Carl Starfelt] in the camp this week and it was nice to share his experiences. We hadn’t actually met before the gathering here so it was fun to talk.”
If Lagerbielke is able to emulate Starfelt’s success in Glasgow, he will be adorned by the supporters. The Celta Vigo man is five years the former Elfsborg man’s senior, so Lagerbielke does have lots of room and time for development.
Under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers, he will only look to improve, and off the pitch, he did admit he did look at his compatriot’s flat when searching for a place to stay. He said: “I even viewed Carl Starfelt’s old flat in Glasgow, but it was too nice for me!”
Despite not taking the reigns of Starfelt’s living space, Lagerbielke will be keen to continue his fellow Swede’s dynasty on the pitch. There will be vast competition in the heart of the Hoops’ defence when everyone is fit, though.
